Mage Gothic - Book 1
by gothicjedi666
Summary: A while back I had a self insert in Dragon Age 2. I took the story down intending to re-write, but I forgot, finally I have gotten around to it. This is just the first story of three, possibly more if I get around to the DLCs. No warnings for this story its not very graphic and doesn't deviate from the plot of the game. Book 2 and 3 will be more adult and longer.
1. 1 - The Hawks, Aveline and Flemeth

Author Note

I started writing this years ago but totally lost any interest I had. Then last week I found the first few chapters in DocX so I figured I'd get back to it.

I've decided to make the three parts of the game into three stories, and I plan to the DLCs as well. Legacy will be set between the second and third story.

 **Mage Gothic**

 **9:41 Dragon**

 **Skyhold**

"Champion" a voice said to me "May I have a few moments of your time?".

I turned my head away from the impressive view that could seen from the walls of this fortress and looked upon a Seeker. I knew who she was thanks to Varric, and I had been expecting her to come talk to me.

"Of course" I replied "How may I help the Inquisition".

The Seeker expression made me think that this wasn't really Inquisition business, this was something more personal, but no less important to her.

"I've already heard Varric's account of your years in Kirkwall" she told me "but I was wondering if I could hear your account of events. There is still so much we don't understand about what happened before the Mage uprising".

This I understood as while I'd seen those events play out, both as part of a game and for real, I still didn't fully understand. There had been much more going in Kirkwall than the growing conflict between the Mages and the Templars.

"I don't have time to tell you everything at once" I said to the Seeker "but I'll tell you what I can, when I can".

Cassandra nodded to signal her acceptance.

"I'll start with when I arrived in this world" I told her "It was during the Blight. The battle at Ostagar had just come to an end, and a special family was fleeing Lothering. Lucky for me our paths crossed".

(Line Break)

 **1 - The Hawks,** **Aveline and** **Flemeth**

 **The Wilds**

I'd been in the world of Dragon Age for less than an hour and already I was panicking, but then who could blame me. It wasn't as if anything I'd lived through so far could have prepared me for this.

A gang of Darkspawn were sprinting right at me drawing closer with every second and I had frozen up. I was simply unable to act and even if I had been able to move all I could have done was try to run away, and the Darkspawn were clearly faster than I was.

Now I was feeling real terror. I'd wondered a lot about death during my life but I'd never really faced my own mortality before. Sure I'd had a few accidents that might of done me real harm if I hadn't been lucky enough to avoid injury, but no one had ever tried to kill me until now, and there were a lot of killers heading my way.

Then I felt my heart pounding like a war drum in my ears and adrenalin coursing through my veins. I realised that I might as well go down fighting. I could just accept death as fighting and surviving would be a near impossible task, but in the end I decided to leave this world more or less as I had entered my own. That is screaming my head off after causing another living being a lot of pain. Thankfully I wouldn't be naked.

There was a sword on the ground next to charred corpse. It looked like a good blade, not that I was fit to judge such things, but it seemed to be nice and new. I held it in a way that hopefully made me seem bad-ass and at least somewhat capable of fighting.

When the first Darkspawn reached me I thrust the weapon at his waist as he, assuming it was a he, lifted his axe behind him for a savage over head strike that would have most likely killed me had the blow ever connected.

I'd never fought with a real sword before so it was amazing that I was able to stab anything. Sadly for me the weapon was now stuck in the Genlock's body and since I didn't let go of the sword I was sent tumbling to the ground along with the monster.

Things looked grim indeed as I literally had dead weight in the form of a Genlock pinning me to the ground, and the next thing I knew another Genlock was standing over with a an evil grin on its face and more worryingly a nasty looking mace in its hands.

I had just enough time to scream as the creature brought its crude weapon down for a killing blow. Then everything went dark and I felt something strange pass through me, it was like nothing I had felt before.

When I opened my eyes again there was a man who had to be Garret Hawke given the mark on his face, he looked like a knight in his armour and he carried a two handed great sword which he was using to cut down the Darkspawn with the kind of grace no real life warrior should ever be able to achieve.

He fought like the hero of a epic saga, every blow was perfectly placed to end an enemy's life or to save his own. The 'spawn never had a chance they might as well have killed themselves and saved Hawke the bother.

Granted I was seeing things through a bit of a haze due to my eyes having watered up, and as such I wouldn't say that I saw everything clearly, but I was pretty sure that Garret was singlehandedly taking on a dozen Darkspawn and he was winning.

A Genlock which I guess had been slowly creeping on me with a nasty looking dagger suddenly found itself impaled on over-sized blade nearly as big as the one Garret held.

Then there was another warrior here to battle the Darkspawn, and I found myself rapidly forming another man-crush on Carver Hawke, Garret's younger brother. Carver had just saved my life and had sped off to fight another of the 'spawn.

Next a flash of light and intense heat directed my attention to a charred Hurlock on the ground close by which told me that Bethany the Mage was around here somewhere.

Another quick look around told me that all the Darkspawn were now dead. By the looks of things I had gotten one of about thirty, and the three Hawke siblings had gotten the rest in a very short amount of time.

They had made it look so easy as well. I could only conclude that either the Darkspawn were not the threat they appeared to be if you had decent weapons or magic powers, or the Hawke family was made up of the most powerful warriors and mages this world had ever known.

Garret and Carver were making sure the Darkspawn were all really dead and possibly looting them as well. Watching them stab corpses and then sort through the remains made me feel a bit ill so I decided to turn away, and to offer my thanks to the female members of that family.

I started with Leandra, the mother. She looked younger than I would have expected even with the stress and dirt of the road upon her. Granted her hair was all grey, but there was still some fire in her eyes and she moved with more energy than someone old enough to be a Grandmother should.

As for Leandra's daughter she was quite the hottie I soon realised. She wore a man's boots and slacks (which is smart because dresses were not made with running in mind) but the top she wore hung off her shoulders and showed just enough of her chest to ensure that no one would ever mistake her for a guy.

"Thanks for the rescue" I said to Bethany and her mother.

Now that I was looking her in the eyes, which were well worth looking at, I couldn't have failed to notice that odd look she was giving me.

Granted I must of looked odd, what with my modern clothes and all but she was looking at me in way that made me think that it wasn't my physical apprentice that was so very interesting to her.

"Why didn't you use your magic?" she asked.

I struggled to give her an answer.

"Err what?" I asked in reply.

I must have misheard her.

"You could have defended yourself with your magic" said the female Hawke in a matter of fact tone of voice that reminded me of a school teacher "You're clearly not a warrior".

That last part I did understand, and I agreed, it was the rest of what she had said that I had trouble with.

"I'm not a Mage" I pointed out "I don't have any magic".

Bethany gave me something of a sympathetic look.

"You don't need to pretend" she assured "I'm an apostate too, and the Templar with us is in no state to drag you off to the Circle".

I quickly recalled what that word meant. She was referring to Mages that were outside the control of this world's main religious body. As for the Circle, well that would soon be full of demons so I was very glad that no one was going to be taking me there.

"I've never used magic. I wouldn't even know how" I protested.

For valid reasons, I really didn't want to be a Mage. Their lives in this world sucked.

"Sorry but there's no denying it" said Wesley the Templar, who had limped to catch up with the rest of the group "we saw you throw those Darkspawn away with magic".

I almost denied it. Then I remembered feeling that force and then I'd been standing up which meant that the dead Darkspawn that had been pinning me down had somehow been pushed off me. I didn't lift it off, so I must have used magic.

"How could you not know that you're a Mage?" questioned Aveline.

I pushed aside my thoughts about how the future Guard-Captain of Kirkwall was a giant of a woman even when she wasn't wearing armour and I answered the question.

"We don't have Mages where I am from" I tried to explain "and nothing like that has ever happened to me before".

I heard Carver mutter something along the lines of 'lucky for your people' but unsurprisingly it was the Templar who reacted the most.

"Two rogue Mages..." he began with a concerned look on his face.

Thankfully his wife cut in.

"Wesley, we've been over this already. I'm sure the Maker understands" she assured him.

Wesley grimaced before accepting defeat

"Forgive me. Sometimes it is difficult to forget my training" he said.

I imagine that the Chantry brainwashing was very effective. It had to be to produce so many fanatical Mage-Hunters.

"Sorry to interrupt" said the eldest Hawke sibling "but if we don't start moving then we'll all be meeting the Maker very soon".

We all started moving and soon there was another battle, but there was nothing I could do other than stand there while holding my recovered sword. Still no one seemed to mind my lack of activity or perhaps they had simply failed to notice due to all the frantic fighting.

After enough running to make me think I was guest staring episode of Doctor Who the whole group stopped for a breather and some introductions were made by the eldest living male Hawke, who pointed to each member of the group in turn.

"My name is Garret but you can call me Hawke" he said "The one with the permanent frown is my brother, Carver. And of course this is my mother, Leandra. Then there is my sister Bethany who is your fellow apostate. Lastly we have Ser Wesley and Aveline. Everyone this is Gothic".

For a few moments I was confused until I remembered that I was wearing the jumper that said Gothic on it. Garret would assume that this was my name because in his world it only made sense to pay for the expense of personalising an outfit if you were rich and wanted everyone to know your name. Or at least I assumed that was the reason.

"If you're a Mage why are you using a sword" enquired Carver.

By now I was starting to feel better, a little giddy even.

"Because they don't hand out the free staffs until you join the Circle" I quipped before giving a more serious answer "Like I said before we don't have Mages were I'm from and I have no idea how to use a staff but I can use a sword, at least a little".

Garret laughed a little.

"If we weren't in the presence of a Templar I'd suggest letting Bethany show you a few tricks" he suggested.

Clearly he wasn't totally joking about that only Ser Wesley didn't seem to get that.

"The proper place for a Mage's instruction is the Circle" the wounded man reminded everyone.

I'd avoid joining any Circle if possible. They would make me wear robes and attend classes, such horrors needed to be avoided at all cost.

"Maybe I'll join one later" I lied "assuming I live to see civilisation again".

Which wasn't looking likely at the moment, at least not for me.

"None of us will if we stand around talking all day" Bethany pointed out "We should get moving.

Her brothers nodded in agreement.

"She's right" agreed Garret "If we stay here any longer the entire Blight will catch up with us. We'd best all stick together".

We all started moving again but it seemed that the question and answer session wasn't over yet.

"Do you really have no Mages were you're from?" questioned Bethany.

It was kind of hard to answer questions and to keep up this sort of pace, but I gave it my best shot as I'd never had much luck resisting a pretty face.

"Yes" I replied "no one has any magic, or if they do they hide it really well but even if they do I've never seen an Abomination or a Demon so I don't think my people are connected to the Fade".

It wasn't as strange as it might have sounded. The Dwarves of this world seemed to be cut off from the Fade so it wasn't as if the idea was hard for her to grasp.

"So how did you get here?" she asked next.

I really didn't want to answer this question as if I did I would sound like a mad man, so I waited for a few seconds thinking that the universe would provide a few Darkspawn as a distraction, but they failed to appear.

"Well I went to bed and I feel asleep... then I met someone..." I told her

For some reason I'd been in Fade, or at least what I guessed to be the Fade, and someone or something had been there. The being had talked to me but I was starting to forget what they had spoken about, it was like a dream and I was forgetting it.

"It might have been a Demon" I admitted "but it didn't try to make a deal with me or anything like that it just told me that it was sending me here".

Perhaps a powerful Spirit could have brought me here, although I couldn't imagine the reasoning behind such an action. It really made no sense.

"Any idea why?" asked my fellow Mage.

I thought about it for a moment, and tried to recall what the hooded figure had told me.

"Something to do with a reward" was my honest answer.

We were both puzzled by that.

"Well I don't think your possessed" said Bethany "if you were the Demon inside would have done something to protect its host. What you did wasn't at all planned".

From what I knew Demons like being here and if it had been a powerful enough Demon to disguise its presence within me then it would have killed all the Darkspawn or at least done a better job of trying to keep my body intact.

"It's strange that you have never shown signs of magic before" said the female Mage "most of us have a few experiences with magic as children".

I couldn't recall anything like that.

"I've heard of someones magical potential not being realised until they were an adult, but then it only happens if you're exposed to Lyruim" Bethany informed me.

I spent a few moments more thinking about what had happened to me.

"Or maybe if you got drawn into the Fade" I reasoned.

Bethany nodded.

"It's possible" she said "If you were somehow drawn into the Fade it might have given you the same link to it that Mages have".

Any further musing was cut short.

"There are Darkspawn ahead!" Garret called out before issuing orders "Carver, Gothic you're with me, Aveline stay with Wesley. Bethany look after mother".

He didn't give me a chance to remind him about my almost total lack of fighting skills, because he was screaming a war cry while I struggled to keep up with two men who wearing full body armour, but that didn't matter much as the two Hawke brothers seemed to have the situation well in hand. However I still got to bloody my sword again as one of the Spawn reached for a crossbow so it could shoot Carver in the back.

The 'spawn had died without ever knowing who it was stabbing him the back, if I wasn't a Mage I might make a decent Rogue.

"Well that was easy" boasted the older Hawke brother.

I really wished he hadn't used those words I knew he had jinxed us as that was when I felt a faint thumping noise through base of my feet. It was an Ogre that was getting closer and closer.

"Hey everyone" I said, as I knew I had to do something to warn them "I think we're about to be attacked by an Ogre".

Everyone looked at me as if I was insane. Which to be fair could be the case as it was possible that this was all the product of my delusional mind.

"How could you possibly know..." started Carver.

That was when the Ogre appeared and ended all debate on the matter.

"Is this a magic thing?" asked Garret as he drew his two handed sword.

He had been looking at me, but I wasn't the one to answer.

"Not normally" replied Bethany as she raised her staff "but he's hardly a normal Mage".

Now there was no more time for talk. The Ogre charged and so did the Hawke brothers. Bethany fired off a spell as I stood there unable to act as I tried to remember how I felt just before I'd blasted a dead darkspawn off myself.

There had been something inside me, some sort of energy. It had passed through my body and blasted outwards. If I could just focus that power on the Darkspawn then no one would have to die.

For all my concern about either Carver or Bethany dying, brief as if might have been, it was actually Garret who got lifted in the monsters paws and then crushed, but not before he was able to badly wound the monster

The shock of his sudden and very violent death made everyone freeze and then the creature turned towards me and I got very scared.

Suddenly it was as if the emotion itself was the catalyst for my magical powers. When my hand moved to futility block the incoming blow I felt the power move through me and lightening burst out of me. There was so much that it seemed to fill the sky and the terrible beast died in agony.

"Bethany!" I heard a woman scream.

The Mage was at her brother's side in a flash she tried to use magic to heal Garret, but he was already dead. Sadly this wasn't the Forgotten Realms. This sort of magic couldn't bring him back to life.

I didn't get myself involved in the mourning process as I had no right to share their grief even though I understood just how fucked we all were thanks to his death. Because of that I was extra glad that the Ogre had died screaming in pain.

"That was an incredibly brave" complemented Aveline.

From her view it must have looked like I'd held my ground and then had cast a very powerful spell when in fact I'd been too scared to run away.

"Thanks" I muttered.

Anything else we had to say would have to wait. Even more Darkspawn were now heading towards us.

"There's no end to them!" shouted Bethany "we're surrounded".

This was indeed the case.

"Then we'll make our stand here!" called out Carver who seemed to be doing an impression of his now dead older brother "And make them pay for our lives".

I was so hoping not to die.

"Come on Dragon Lady" I whispered.

Spells flew through the air as Bethany did that spinney staff trick and Carver had picked up Garret's sword which he was using to pretty much destroy the Spawn. Aveline was understandable sticking close to her husband and the Hawke sibling's mother. Meanwhile I was trying to focus in the hopes that I could use my new magical gifts.

The roar of a dragon caused everybody, Human and Darkspawn to stop fighting and to look up. We all watched as a dragon came in and scorched the Darkspawn. It was a massacre the monsters never stood a chance and I found myself really wishing that I had the kind of power that would allow me to turn into a dragon.

Then everyone watched in awe as the fearsome dragon transformed into Flemeth, the legendary Witch of the Wilds. This moment was a lot more impressive in real life, when you could smell the roasted Darkspawn and feel the heat of the fire on your face.

Also not only did she sound like Captain Janeway of the U.S.S Voyager she also looked like her too. Which worried me a lot as that bitch was crazy. But then again so was Flemeth so it kind of made sense.

"Well, well. What have we here?" she asked of us "It used to be that we never got visitors to the wilds. Now it seems to be this year's number one holiday destination".

Carter Hawke made some noise about 'Witch of the Wilds' however it went unheard mostly as the others were focused on Wesley who had just fallen down. The witch ignored the dying Templar and focused her attention on me.

"And another from beyond. Are you his brother or is it just mere resemblance?" she enquired of me.

My brothers were a long way away from here, so I didn't know what she meant by that, so I focused on what I could respond to.

"We'll I'm not local if that's what you mean" I told the wild witch.

She made eye contact with me and it was scary.

"Yet like him you have such... potential and power".

My mouth failed to work if it had I would have asked: Like who?

"Will you help us get out of here?" Bethany half asked and half begged.

The expected deal came up. In exchange for us taking an amulet to the Elves camped outside of Kirkwall, Flemeth would guide us to a ship that would take us to Kirkwall. She gave me the amulet, and I got these sense that she would unhappy if I wasn't the there to deliver it.

That it was something like Horcrux made me very weary of the object but I couldn't refuse the deal. Besides she likely had a backup plan anyway, and might kill us all for not doing as we promised.

When that was done it looked like the old bat wanted to talk to me some more but I shook my head and turned away from the dragon lady. Wesley was dying and while he was strictly speaking my enemy what with me being a Mage out of the Circle, I didn't intend to disrespect his death by chatting through it.

"Without an end there can be no peace," Flemeth said with what could have been real compassion as Carver ended the Templar's suffering.


	2. 2 - Gamlen

**Mage Gothic**

 **2 - Gamlen**

 **Kirkwall**

After weeks spent hiking through the Wilds while a witch in dragon form watched over us, that is when she wasn't walking with us in her human form or off somewhere else. Then after weeks more on a crowed ship, one packed with dirty depressed peasants who didn't even have the strength to fight over what little food they had, we had finally made it to the city.

Kirkwall was in my view not worth the trip. Sure the architecture was impressive but it was also overcrowd, messy, bad smelling and it had this aura of oppression about it that only got worse as we got closer to the Gallows. I felt like I was being marched into hell.

As if she had sensed my discomfort Leandra decided to distract me with talk.

"If you don't mind me asking; what are your plans once we get into the city?" Leandra enquired.

I'd thought about this quite a bit as there hadn't been much else to do other than listen to Bethany talk about using magic, which she couldn't risk doing too often.

"Find work I guess" I replied "but I'm not sure what I can do".

Uncertainty was clear in my voice, and it was justified as my higher education had been built around the assumption that I would be working in a modern environment. That meant computers, telephones and customer service. Not stuff you found in medieval setting.

Sure the fact that I could read, write and do sums could serve me well but unless I found someone who needed a person with those skills (like say a merchant who needed an assistant) then I was a bit buggered. I wasn't really built for manual labour; I was more of a thinker than a doer.

Of course there was the option of simply walking up to a Templar and telling them that I might be a Mage. They would drag me off for some sort of testing which would prove that I had magic and then assuming I survived my Harrowing I would become a Mage of the Circle.

The option was not as bad as it sounded. As I would at least get a roof over my head and three meals a day plus instruction in magic would be a dream come true.

With the resources of the Circle I could even become a writer or inventor, something along the lines of Leonardo DaVinci. I had after all grown up on a different, and more technologically advanced planet than this one so I was pretty sure that was some sort of useful knowledge stuck in the old grey matter. Nothing complete of course, I wouldn't be drawing any detailed blueprints but with the combined intelligence of the Circle and enough resources I should be able to come up with something useful.

"You're more than welcome to stay with us in the Estate" Leandra offered with great kindness "I'm sure Bethany wouldn't be happy if you did and if things work out. Well let's just say I wouldn't mind some grandchildren around the house".

If I'd been drinking or eating at this point then I would have started choking. Not only did Leandra know I had the hots for her daughter, it seemed as if she greatly approved of the possible match.

Then again she had married a rogue Mage from another land. Thinking on that it didn't seem so odd she would approve, and that her daughter might follow the same path. She probably thought it was romantic.

"Thanks" I replied slightly nervous about the knowing look she was giving me "I'll stick with your family, at least for a while".

I'd known that she'd made the same offer to Averline as well and while I didn't much like the red headed warrior I had to admit it was smart of Leandra to keep us all together. We were about to enter a radically different environment during a time of upheaval and knowing the game as I did I knew that we would need the numbers.

Soon we made our way past most of the crowds and to the Captain of the guard who was as expected (at least by me) surrounded by a group of soldiers from the Fereldan army, which had been soundly defeated at Ostagar by the Darkspawn due to the King's rather poor choice of tactics, and because of his Uncle.

If they were here that made them deserters, but since Garret had also run from that mess of a battle I couldn't really judge them too harshly without also judging the dead man. He'd at least he'd died bravely protecting his family unlike these guys who had most likely deserted simply to save their own skins.

Even though I knew exactly how this would turn out I still had to act as if I didn't.

Then suddenly something struck me. In the fight that was about to happen Bethany would use magic. She might be seen and that could lead to her being eventually taken into custody by the Templars.

I also noticed that a few of the deserters were hanging about in the shadows. Archers if I had to guess, if they opened fire we could all be cut down in short order.

Then I remembered that since Garret had died at the hands of that Ogre rather than Carver or Bethany. That meant something worrying: events might not play out exactly as I remember them. The butterfly effect could mean that things would diverge from what I knew quite rapidly and that with every change my presence caused things would become more and more different than what I knew.

Granted some things would remain the same, the coming war between the Templars and the Mages was already inevitable. It could be delayed for years to come but eventually someone (most likely Anders) would do something that would start the fighting.

Still that didn't matter right now. What did matter was that Bethany not use magic openly. If she wasn't seen then she might avoid getting dragged off to the Circle. Also we had to do something about the men with bows.

"Beth" I whispered after moving to stand next to her "there's gonna be a fight and you can't use magic in front of the guards".

I then pointed to the thugs who were between the nearby pillars. Like me Bethany didn't fail to notice that were slowly arming themselves. She was smart enough to know that we couldn't stand here in the open.

Thankfully the shouting going on as the head guard argued with the deserters kept everyone distracted as Bethany and I slipped away from the main group.

We didn't move towards the archers instead my fellow Mage grabbed her mother's arm and as a group we went right past the bowmen. We headed for a nearby stall that had a few other stragglers hanging around it.

As a cover Bethany and I acted as if we were interested in buying something until Beth moved away from me after whispering something into her mother's ears.

I was left pretending to sell my IPod to a Dwarf who sold weapons. He actually seemed intrigued by the offer of a useless lump of plastic but then why not? He'd of never seen plastic before. Still I couldn't sell it right now as the fight was about to start. I'd told him I'd come back after thinking his offer over and then slunk off into the shadows.

When the fight did start Bethany and I were in place to take down the bowmen. We couldn't use magic and we didn't need to as we simply tackled the thugs. Knocking them down.

It isn't easy to quickly stand up when you're wearing metal armour and I had plenty of time to land a few kicks. It was actually fun for me as I didn't have to kill anyone, which was good because I wasn't sure that I was ready for that.

Killing monsters was one thing but people, even if they were complete dicks, was different. They were after all the same species as me. I could only hope that I didn't get too much blood on my hands.

(Line Break)

After that came the wait.

Three days later, three very, very long days later we were still standing around with only each other and the refugees to talk to.

One of the few sources of entertainment I had were the merchants. Thankfully my pockets were full of stuff that was completely useless but still totally unique in this world. And as my favourite Farscape character had once said: unique is always valuable.

Thankfully for me valuable things don't have to be useful. It wasn't too hard to imagine my mobile phone ending up being a display piece in some idiot noble's home. My IPod was likely already being taken apart by some Dwarven craftsmen and as for my paper money, I was sure that it was going to end up being framed and put on display at the Viscount's Palace along aside some fancy works of art.

Aside from that I got the chance to know everyone first hand.

Carver wasn't such a bad bloke once he accepted that it seemed as if Bethany and I were going to hook up sometime soon. He'd been jealous of his older and more talented brother for most of his life. Now that Garret was dead he seemed to have realised that he would never be able to get out of his siblings shadow. Hopefully he would stop trying.

Over all he was a bit of a grumpy sod but he lightened up towards me once I asked him to teach me a bit about using my blade. He was curious as to why I would bother to learn but I explained that I thought it was foolish to limit oneself to simply being a mage, a warrior, or a rogue. There was no reason why a warrior couldn't learn to pick locks and there was no reason for a magic user not to know how to at least hold a sword the right way.

Averline was understandable a lot harder to talk to. She'd just lost everything. Her husband, her home and her entire life was gone. Yet still she found the time to teach me a few fighting moves as well. She even seemed interested in learning more about my world, but I knew that these were just distractions for her. It would be a while before she really opened up to anyone.

However it wasn't hard to figure out what she was all about. She was very moral to an extent that I would call her old fashioned. She wasn't that religious despite her strong ethical code and she believed in judging people by their actions. This was good for me because it meant that she didn't think the Chantry had the right to lock up a Mage that had shown that they could use their magic responsibly.

Leandra was full of hope. She was already making plans; I could almost see the wheels in her head turning. In her view we would all soon be living at her family's estate.

I knew she was already planning to marry Bethany to me so she could start filling her new home with children. The cynic in me thought this was probably to fill the hole in her heart from the loss of Garret but I couldn't blame her for wanting a proper family again. If she wanted to all but adopt me into the Hawke family then I wouldn't object as I would need the support.

Bethany, when not kicking ass along with her brother, was as sweet as her mother. As the hours of waiting became days she opened up and confessed that she'd like to live a life without magic. She had no desire for power, and had only learned more than the most basic of spells so that she could protect herself.

I could understand why she would want to give up her power. She would never really be free as long as she had magic and it put everyone around her in danger.

Truthfully I was glad that she never had magic as otherwise there would have been no one around to teach me the basics. She couldn't show me anything too advanced or destructive as that would be noticed, but I did learn spells that healed minor wounds and I also learned to keep my body clean with magic. That was a handy spell and thanks to it she'd been able to prevent any of us from getting sick back when we had all been trapped in that cargo hold.

In return I told her all about my world and its many, many wonders. She was amazed by the stories and was full of questions that I was more than happy to answer.

I'd been trying to explain movies when Gamlen finally showed up.

At first everyone had been full excitement and hope. But that didn't last long as Gamlen quickly explained the harsh reality of the situation.

As I'd known all along the git had lost the entire family estate years ago and of course the only way we could get into the city was to either join the Red Irons Mercenaries or a smuggling group.

Naturally no one was happy about any of this but it looked to be the only way and Gamlen had at least made sure that his sister would be able to get in no matter what the rest of us did.

He explained that the guards had some sort of rule about a citizen's next of kin being allowed in. But if that was the case then it led to me wondering why couldn't Leandra, who had been born in this city and therefore was a citizen, just bring say Carver in while Gamlen brought in Bethany or vice versa. This wouldn't help Averline or me but it would be a good start.

It didn't take me long to remember that Gamlen was using us to pay off some sort of debt. The Bastard.

This all led to Bethany, Carver, Aveline and myself heading over towards a guy called Meera, who was the leader of the Red Irons. We got the needed information from him but since I didn't want to kill anyone as part of a job interview I convinced everyone that we should hear the other offer as well. Even Aveline, who didn't want to be a criminal, agreed that we should gather all the facts first.

So the group met an elf woman Athenril and again got the needed information. The smugglers seemed interested in Bethany and me because we were Mages. Some criminal cartels did have Mages with them but Athenril's group never had the chance to acquire such people, and they saw value in getting two for the price of one. Granted I didn't know much magic but Bethany was willing to teach. Better than that the smugglers operated outside of the city. They had bases along the shoreline and the Templars never went out there unless they were hunting escaped Mages, but as long as we hid our magic at times like that we would be okay.

Next we all walked back to the courtyard so that we could talk things over.

Carver wanted to join the Red Irons as he was a warrior. He met his foes openly and didn't care much for sneaking around, which made sense as he had a big sword and he knew how to use it.

Aveline was also in favour of the Red Irons. The merc group had been hired to keep order within the city for the next year. Granted she would be required to bend a few rules and she would even have to kill people, but it was legal work where as the smuggling was not.

I on the other hand wanted to stay out of the city as much as possible until the Hawke family had a chance to regain its fortunes. Without coins and friends in high places Bethany and I would be easy pickings for the Templars. Me more so since I didn't yet know how to hide my abilities.

If Beth went with her brother I decided that I would go to the Circle and hope for the best. While I had no love for Templars, I didn't have any negative views on the Circle Mages due to my lack of any personal experience and I knew that the real trouble wouldn't begin for years to come. By then I could have an escape plan in place with any luck I'd be on a boat to Felderan by the time they got around to hunting me.

"Okay so you two want to be mercenaries" I said while gesturing at the two warriors "which is great but the Red Irons are based inside the city which is dangerous for me and Bethany".

I could tell that while Carver would not be happy about being a smuggler, he would do it to keep his sister safe. Thankfully for him I had a brilliant idea.

"So why don't Beth and I go work with the smugglers while you two join the mercenaries" I suggested.

Carver was about to protest but I cut him off.

"I've thought about it and I think this is the best way. You and Aveline can look after each other and you'll fight better if you're not worrying about the Templars finding us. Bethany and I will watch each others backs. It's not like we won't see each other either I'm sure we'll get time off".

Understandably Carver didn't want to abandon his sister but he was smart to realise that this was also his chance to prove himself and get out of his brother's shadow while still protecting his sister in a way.

"What do you think, Bethany?" asked Carver.

My fellow Apostate looked at me and then took a few moments to think the matter over. I was left wondering if she would chose to be away from me as just the two of us joining the smugglers together would bring us invariably closer, something she might not be ready for.

On the other hand she might like the idea, a chance to do her own thing with the added bonus she would be far away from the Chantry and its scary Mage-Hunters.

"Gothic's right" she reasoned "I'm not a fighter either and this way I can stay out of the sight of the Templars".

The little smile she sent my way told me that there might be another reason for her making this choice.

Aveline wasn't happy about Beth and me becoming crooks but I pointed out that smuggling wouldn't require me to kill anyone which was something I'd never done before. The fact that I'd never killed anyone shut her up because she realised that it possibly made me a better person than her, at least if we were being judged on the ability to take someones life.

Carver and Aveline then left to complete the Red Irons initiation while Beth and I went to pass the smugglers audition.

"Mother won't like this" warned Bethany.

Which she didn't but again I explained that I simply wasn't willing to kill people for money. I did assure her that I would, if not kill then at least horrible wound, anyone who messed with Beth, which oddly went down rather well.

It made sense that in this world most mothers would approve of their daughter dating a guy who's willing to hurt someone to protect them since so many people seemed to want to murder each other around here.

Once we dealt with the little issue our new employer had wanted handled (which was easily done as Bethany just flirted with the merchant and his hired goons while I stole the entire money box) we met back up with Carver and Aveline.

Who were as I had expected covered in blood, some of which was their own. I felt smug about that and for a moment the future Guard-Captain almost looked as if she would admit to being wrong, but alas I wasn't that lucky.

"So a year then" remarked Carver "a whole year apart"

His faced showed his hardening resolve, and it was clear that he was speaking to Bethany even if it sounded as if he was talking to all of us.

"It's only a year" she assured him "then we'll be together again and have a lot of stories to share".

During my short time here I'd noticed that telling tales was a popular pastime is these parts but it made sense, it wasn't as if they had DVD players and the internet. The poor sods.

"I'll look after her" I promised Carver

That was my plan.

"Or she'll look after me" I joked as I was trying to inject some levity into the conversation "Either way I'm sure that we will be fine".

It didn't go down that well.

"How about we all look after each" said Bethany.

That went down better.

"I think we can all agree to that" replied Averline with a nod.

Things then got all touchy feely.

"Oh just be careful all of you" begged our groups shared mother who took the time to give us all big hugs.

And with that we split up. Leandra went with Gamlen who if he had any common sense would take could care of his sister, while Averline and Carver went off to join the Red Irons.

As for Bethany and me, soon we were heading out of the city and on to our own adventure.


	3. 3 - Varric

**Mage Gothic**

 **3 - Varric**

 **Kirkwall**

The past year had been an interesting one for all of us.

Out of everything the biggest news was that The Blight had been defeated and the Hero of Ferelden had somehow survived slaying the Arch-Demon, before then going on to rebuild that nation's faction of the Grey Wardens.

The most recent news was that they had lost an important city over in Ferelden, but thankfully most of the people had been able to get out before the major settlement burned because of the discovery of a smuggler's route that bypassed the city's walls. Which was something that made me feel a lot of better about doing the job I'd been doing for the last year

There was other news as well. This world's version of the French (Orlesian Empire) were apparently rattling their sabres at their weakened neighbour. Since Ferelden seemed to be the closest thing this world had to England. I was rooting for Ferelden as England was very good at putting France in its place but I was also remembering that the French had actually beaten the English a few times, the Battle of 1066 coming to mind.

More locally things had started to calm down. Many of the refugees who hadn't found a home here were now heading back to Ferelden in order to help rebuild and hopefully piece their lives back together. I wasn't actually from there so I had no desire to return but a lot of people I'd met on the boat over here had taken the journey back. Sadly not all of them, so there were still refugees about.

This was good as it had brought an end to the food riots and there were a lot less homeless people around these days. Sadly other problems had come along.

The Qunari had been 'shipwrecked' and now there were hundreds of hostile warriors taking up space while also managing to piss off the Chantry. The whole situation was like a bomb waiting to go off. Granted I knew that it wouldn't go off for a while, but still it made people very tense.

Then there was the ever growing conflict between the Mages and the Templar Knights.

The Knight-Commander seemed to be growing in power by the day and she was using that power to obtain an even tighter grip upon the Mages. Naturally the Mages resented this and as such more of them turned to Blood Magic in an attempt to gain freedom, which in turn made the Knight-Commander crack down even harder.

It was a pattern that would lead to disaster but until Anders came along with the magical bomb of doom, then things wouldn't result in war.

No for now the Qunari would be the major threat, and then we'd have the Mage – Templar war.

So things were going to be interesting in Kirkwall for a good long time to come.

As for my friends... well...

Aveline and Carver had formed a deadly partnership while with the Red Irons, but they had both left the group after the year long contract was up. That had surprised a few people, but not me of course, as while they were both very good fighters and could have risen high in the organisation or even started their own group, neither of them wanted the life of a mercenary.

Carver was now living with his mother and uncle while Aveline had joined the guard and so was living in the barracks. Not a bad choice for either of them as Carver was still trying to find his place in the world and Aveline had clearly found hers.

I often thought that Carver was at least now no longer totally in his brother's shadow. He'd been his own man for a while and that would serve him well should he ever take the route of joining the Templars.

When Aveline had moved out of Gamlen's house it was a sad affair but it was for the best really. She'd never felt as much of a part of the family as I had, she was after all older than the rest of us, and she had been thinking of having her own children before Wesley died, so she didn't see her herself as one Leandra's children.

As for Beth and I, we'd quickly gotten use to the life of smugglers. It was far more profitable and easier than I had expected. As Mages we mostly had the job of providing light when hiding out in caves, and occasional we even got to send the odd fireball at the small groups of Darkspawn that tended to turn up in underground tunnels.

I'd never been the sneakiest of people but over the last year I'd been well trained. I could now pick locks with or without using magic and knew how to get around without being seen by the guards. Beth and I would find this very useful if we ever had to run from the Templars.

Along the way I'd picked up a few skills that only Rogues had. I could fight with a sword and a dagger if needs be but I'd never gotten the hang of using two weapons at once. Mostly I just used a single blade and I much preferred ranged combat.

I'd turned out to be a decent archer which was good when you spent most of your time outside of proper civilisation. I could even set a snare to catch a rabbit even though I never got the hang of skinning the poor things. I'd had a pet rabbit as a child so I spent more time fishing than hunting, although I had taken down a deer once. Thankfully it had been an adult male and as such I hadn't had to suffer the guilt of killing Bambi's mother.

Bethany had taught me enough about magic that I would be able to hide it and to keep myself safe from demons. Not that I had much to worry about when it came to demons, the only thing that would even get my interest would be a way home but none of them could do that.

This was good as in Kirkwall the barrier between this world and Fade, known as the Veil, was weak so demons were able to whisper at Mages who had to be a lot more careful here than in other places. I tried not to think about them as paying attention to voices in your head was never a good idea.

What was most important in my life is that Beth and I were a couple, and pretty much engaged, even though I'd never formally asked her to marry me. It hadn't taken long for us to get there. We'd started a new life as partners in crime and everything else just seemed to fit into place.

Getting together had made a lot of sense even if it had felt a bit rushed at first. We had a lot of the same hopes, fears and dreams. She taught me all about how to survive in this world and I taught her all about a world she'd never known. A few times we'd even saved each other's live after we had encountered small groups of the 'spawn or a more violent criminal group than our own.

During the few times that we'd gotten the chance to meet up as a group I'd kept going with my heavier weapons training. I wasn't much good and I knew I'd never hack my way through foes like Garret use to, but Aveline and Carver seemed to enjoy teaching me so it was worth it just to keep my friendship with them strong, and I did at least build up some muscles. Most Mages didn't look that strong so it helped with my Rogue disguise that I looked like I could handle myself in a fight.

By the end of the year I fitted right in at the Hanged Man. I looked like a Rogue and I knew enough about Ferelden customs to make it seem as if I was from that land rather than another world.

Athenril, the boss of the smuggler group, hadn't been happy when I'd left. At first she had seemed to hate me as while I could do some handy spells I wasn't much good for anything else. At the end she'd found herself calling upon Beth and I for a lot of things.

She had even tried to get us to sign another contract with the offer of increased pay and some nice privileges. I'd been fine with that as out in the wilderness and in the underground places I never had to fear the Chantry, but Bethany wanted to start building a life with her family. I guess she thought that if we managed to settle down somewhere and make a decent living then we could work on those grandkids her mother kept mentioning.

That was the future however as currently mine and Beth's living arrangement was a rundown house near Gamlen's. Close enough that Bethany's mother could visit without having to walk far, but not so close that we didn't have the privacy we required.

The place still needed a lot of work but hopefully we wouldn't be there for long. It was important that we moved on soon as unless we moved up in the world it was only a matter of time before we the armoured boots of Templars kicking down our front door.

I might have gone back to Athenril for some freelance work which she had offered, but Beth wanted to investigate the possibility of regaining her family's estate and Carver had heard about the Deep Roads expedition. I actually wanted to avoid it, as I knew were that course of events would led, but it wasn't my choice, and long as we took that path I had the advantage of my future knowledge.

"This expedition could make or break me, and I'm not about to ruin my chances by hiring a load of humans" the surely dwarf was saying.

Carver tried to argue our case.

"We have experience fighting the Darkspawn" he pointed out "You're going to need people like us".

Indeed he would.

"Sorry but I don't trust strangers" replied the Dwarf.

I decided to at least try to help.

"Then get to know us" I said "come on I'll buy you a drink".

The half sized man snorted.

"Half of Kirkwall wants to be my best friend right now" he told us "You want out of the slums, find another meal ticket".

We took that as a no.

"Now what are we going to do?" asked an upset Bethany "We've got nothing to stop the next person who tries to sell us out. This expedition was our last chance".

While I still wanted to avoid the while Deep Roads thing the pain in her eyes made me want to help her. I had to hope that events would be different enough that Beth didn't up in the Circle, dead or a Grey Warden.

"It will be okay" I assured my girlfriend "we're not exactly lacking in skills. Someone around here must need help. We will find work".

Carver nodded his agreement but said nothing.

"We have to do something more than look for work" protested Beth "We need coin, status, something we can hide behind. As long as we're just refugees then we're no one".

And thus vulnerable, we needed power to protect ourselves. Simply being able to kick ass wouldn't help us against the Templars. Well not if they came in force.

"Maybe Gamlen knows someone who can talk to Bartrand for us" Beth suggested.

So that was the Dwarf's name. I'd long forgotten some of the less important details about the game.

"He's the one who got us into the mess" I reminded her.

Well to be fair he hadn't done anything bad to me personally, but I knew exactly what he had done to the Hawke estate, which he'd stolen in a sense, and that really pissed me off.

"Yes, but he got us into Kirkwall and we've been safe so far" Bethany pointed out.

True enough, he could have just left us at docks to slowly starve, so perhaps I did judge him a little too harshly. But on the other hand he had pretty sold us into servitude.

"That doesn't mean he can help us now" added Carver

I didn't think he could either.

"We might as well ask him" reasoned my fellow Mage "otherwise I just don't know what we'll do".

That was when a man with red hair bumped right into me. I could have stopped him as I'd seen him coming but I let events play out so that we would meet Varric. At this point I didn't know what else to do.

Once the half sized man was done recovering the few coins I'd had in my money bag (I refused to call it a purse), the beardless Dwarf made his introductions, and I spent a moment wondering if Varric had staged the crime so that we would be more open to what he had to say. I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case.

"I apologise for Bartrand" the crossbow user said "He wouldn't know an opportunity if it walked up behind him and yanked his trousers down".

Now there was an odd mental image.

"But I assume you would?" asked Carver.

For now I kept my mouth shut. It was best to let things play out as in the game.

"Yes I would" he replied "what my brother fails to realise is that this expedition needs people like you".

I imagined that a warrior, what seemed to be a rogue, and a mage would be handy down the Deep Roads. Our past experience with the 'spawn would be an added bonus.

"He would never admit it either" Varric told us "He's too proud, but me... I'm more practical".

That was one of putting it.

"How do you know we could help?" enquired Carver "you don't know anything about us".

I figured he did.

"Oh I know all about you" the Dwarf corrected "you've all made good names for yourselves over the last year".

In certain circles yes, but hopefully not the Circle that mattered.

"The Coterie has been squeezing both the smuggler and merc gangs out for a while now" Varric was saying "Only the groups you folks joined have seemed to prosper".

True and that was no coincidence.

"The name Hawke is on many lips these days" the short guy then added.

I'd taken the name Hawke for my own, mostly because it was easier to get along if everyone thought you had a family backing you up. Besides Leandra was planning mine and Bethany's wedding already so I would just keep the name when the time came, which would never happen if we didn't get on this expedition.

Evil magical plot device or not, I really did need the money. Besides it might give me the chance to destroy that idol and that might actually be a good thing in the long run.

"I don't think your brother needs a smuggler" I pointed out, thinking it best not to mention the Mage thing with so many ears around "and you can get fighters anywhere, so why do you need us?".

"We don't, and we don't need another guard either" he said while tilting his head towards Carver "what we need is partners".

The Dwarf sighed a little before explaining further.

"Truth be told my brother has been tearing his hair out trying to fund this little trip, but he can't do it" Varric admitted "Not on his own".

Now came the money bit. It always came down to money in the end.

"Invest in the expedition" he urged "fifty sovereigns, and he can't refuse. Well not with me there to vouch for you".

It sounded simple enough.

"If we had that kind of money we wouldn't need to invest" pointed out Bethany.

It was sort of a Catch 22 really; the problem of us lacking money prevented us from solving the problem, which was that we needed to gain some money.

"You need to think big" said Varric "Listen there's only a brief window after the Blight when the Deep Roads won't be crawling with Darkspawn".

Sadly due to the Broodmothers the Spawn could repopulate an area quite quickly. Granted their losses at the end of the Blight, which included an entire army, had been great, but as long as they had one Broodmother they could rebuild their entire race and repopulate the Deep Roads.

There were stories about the dwarves having gotten their hands on guns, and that they were starting to retake some of the Deep Roads, but even if that went really well it would be a couple of decades at least before the Deep Roads would be 'spawn free.

"The treasure you find down there could set you all up for life" Varric tempted.

The three of us thought about what that meant, a nice big home, a wedding, power, protection and all that other fun stuff.

On the downside it might not mean much if the Templars found out about Beth and me before we got the treasure because we had used our magic to make some money. Hopefully that wouldn't exactly paint us a Blood Mages, as they rarely cared about making coin, but exposing ourselves would force the Knight-Commander's hand.

Then again if we didn't have the wealth and the prestige that going on this expedition would grant us we could end up being made Tranquil when the Templars did find us. They would eventually as the crack down on Mages was going to get worse and worse over the years.

The only other option for us was leaving. But Beth and Carver were unwilling to put their mother through that again, and given how dangerous the even the surface roads were it could be very dangerous for us to go.

"It won't be easy but it's a chance" encouraged Bethany "I think we have to take it".

Then I turned to look at Carver

"She's right, and it's better than just standing around waiting to be thrown in the Gallows" he said.

The families of people who harboured Mages sometimes got locked up along with the magic user so the Templars were a threat to all of us.

"Come on, we work together and you'll have all the capital you'll ever need" Varric promised.

The decision needed to be unanimous judging by the looks Carver and Beth were giving me.

"Okay I'm in" I finally said.

Even if I'd refused it wouldn't have helped as Bethany had ways of getting me to chance my mind.

"Perfect!" Varric called out "Kirkwall's crawling with people offering work. You just set aside some coin from every job, and you'll have the money in no time".

I doubted that it would be as simple as he made it sound, but if we couldn't get legitimate work then maybe I could go back to my life of crime. There had to be some rich people we could steal from or something along those lines. There were options for people with our talents.

"Maybe Aveline can find us some jobs" suggested Carver "she's working in the city guard now. They might have some bounties".

Catching crooks would be nice change of pace normally Beth and I had been the ones running from the law. Not that we'd ever been chased very far or for very long as the current guard captain was in the habit of taking bribes.

"Oh and I might have something that'll you get away with a little less than fifty" mentioned Varric "buy me a drink at the Hanged Man and I'll tell you all about it".

He meant Ander's map. It made sense that the documents he had would be worth a few gold pieces off the total.

The Dwarf then smiled and turned around to face the busy streets that were full of people who could have need of us.

"Now let's go see what kind of trouble we can stir up" he said.

"I do aim to misbehave" I told Varric as we moved as a group into the rougher parts of the city.

(Line Break)

 **Lowtown**

In my view the Hanged Man wasn't the worse tavern in Kirkwall, one of the dives down by he the docks had that dubious honour, but it was definitely near the bottom of the list. On plus side it was Templar free, and the beer wasn't that bad. Varric had barrels of his favourite beer stored here and was willing to share it with his friends.

Carver didn't know the place, but Beth and I were okay here, having visited a few times when the smugglers had been in town. At first I'd been scared when here, as it was full of bad people, but now that I knew how to survive in this world I didn't worry so much.

Varric though seemed right at home. He moved through the crowd, like he'd owned the place, and led us all into the back. We Hawkes gingerly followed, trying to avoid stepping in anything.

It was considerably cleaner in what I guessed was the Dwarf's bedroom/office. Although there were suspicious sounds coming from several of the rooms to the side. Whores plying their trade I figured.

I focused on the room I was in rather than the others, it had a huge table, with the legs shortened, in the centre of the first room. On it were unfurled plans and crude sketches. All in Dwarfish so I didn't have a clue what they were about.

"This is the perfect time to go into the Deep Roads. The Blight is over, and there hasn't been time for the Spawn to recoup their loses. So instead of facing several thousand darkspawn we'll meet several hundred at most".

That was optimistic in my view.

"Those we do find will be scattered and confused" the Dwarf then added.

At least until they found another Old God to awaken and hopefully the talking darkspawn were all dead by now.

"The situation won't last though. We absolutely must be down there and be coming back out within the next couple of months, Varric was now saying "and we don't have a decent entrance into the Deep Roads that's close by. What we need is a good solid map, which is where you guys come in".

I sighed softly as I thought about Anders, but said nothing.

"How do you expect to get a map of the Deep Roads?" Carver asked.

I knew where this was going so I tuned it out and drank my beer.


	4. 4 - Fenris and Isabela

**Mage Gothic**

 **4 - Fenris and Isabela**

 **Lowtown.**

After a long day of running around trying to make some coin I found myself facing a long night of... well running around trying to make some more coin. As I had known, raising fifty sovereigns was not an easy task.

Worse I hadn't yet even made plans for heading up Mount Sundermouth in order deliver that damned amulet, which was something I would have to do soon now that I was a free man. I'd been able to put it off, but I had no more excuses. Perhaps I could have sneaked off alone to do the job, but I got the feeling that Bethany would want to tag along. I didn't really want to put her in danger by having her go up a mountain that was haunted by restless spirits, but I would need the help. So I'd figured it would be best to go up there with anyone who was willing to tag along.

Plus I hadn't even met Anders yet and I actually wanted to do that if only for the Deep Road maps. Well that and because Anders was cool, aside from the bit when he becomes a mass murderer and starts a war that almost sets the world on fire.

Then again maybe it was a good thing that I wasn't already friendly with the possessed Mage. I might have to kill him one day. Heck maybe it would be a smart idea to do it now. It could save us all a lot of trouble later, but it could also makes things worse. After all I didn't know the future just a possible future.

After a nice meal out as a team, the group of us finally made our way into Lowtown. It was not a nice place to say the least, not exactly dangerous during the day as long you kept an eye on your money bag but at night it was a different story. Gangs roamed the street, sneakier crooks prowled in the shadows and there were rumours of worse things in these parts.

Of course most of those stories involved rogue Mages; apparently we kidnapped babies and sacrificed virgins under the full moon, which was silly because I was a Mage outside of the Circle, and I didn't even know any virgins or babies for that matter.

As a group (Carver, Beth, Varric and I) we made our way to the Dwarf who had hired us for this job. Carver, ever the subtle one, called out and Anso, if I remembered his name correctly, jumped in surprise and then complained about falling into the sky, which left me wondering if Dwarves had a proper understanding of gravity.

Carver, Varric, and Bethany all chuckled at the strange dwarf, but I was now thinking over the idea that it was all a clever act, and that Anso knew he was sending us into a trap. Also he could be really nervous about failing Fenris, which was completely understandable as I would be worried about disappointing a guy as dangerous as Fenris.

The Dwarf explained what it was he needed and how much he was offering, which wasn't a lot but Varric agreed to help him as long we got paid, as we really did need whatever coin we could get. I knew that this would lead to taking down some slaver scum, which was always a good thing in my view because any slavery, outside of a girl role playing a sex slave in the bedroom, was a bad thing.

"Do we really want to do anything that would draw the attention of the Templars?" Bethany asked of all of us "they always keep a close eye on Lyrium shipments".

She had a point there. Neither of us should risk anything that involved Templars, but I knew that they had nothing to do with this job. There wasn't even any Lyrium.

"If we see any Templars then we'll do a runner" I assured the misses.

We could run really well. During our smuggling career, we'd been pursued by Darkspawn, other criminal groups, and one time a bear had chased me while I'd been getting some wild flowers for Beth. I still didn't know how I'd survived that.

"Very well" she agreed.

As a group we moved towards the Alienage, or as I called it the Elven District, everyone seemed confident enough but something was bothering Varric, so I asked him if he was feeling okay.

"Something doesn't feel right" explained the Dwarf "Why would anyone use the Alienage to hide something as dangerous as Lyrium?"

He had a good point there. I'd never smuggled anything that got stored in the Elf District. Granted I'd gotten lots of stuff into the Alienage, but once it got there it handed over to someone we didn't store it.

"So this is a trap" reasoned Carver who was now gripping his over-sized sword "That is not good".

Well yes it was trap, but not for us. It was a snare for Fenris who in turn had made it into a trap for someone else.

"Maybe you two shouldn't follow us" Carver then said to Beth and myself.

I figured that he was thinking that the Templars were setting a trap for Mages, he was wrong, but given that facts he had to at hand it wasn't a bad conclusion.

Lyrium that wasn't being dug up by the dwarves was used by the Templars. Mages could use it as well, I didn't understand the details of how, but it was valuable to both groups, so I could see how Carver might this was a trap for Mages.

"We have strength in numbers" I pointed out.

Carver gave in rather quickly.

"Okay but all we run if we see any Templars" he added as a condition.

I could agree with that.

"Oh, this is going to be so much fun!" exclaimed Varric.

He had an odd idea of what was fun.

"Come on" Carver then urged "If this is a trap, it won't get any less deadly if we wait".

With the debate over we made our way into the Alienage as quietly as alley cats. Something was surely not right it really was too quiet, but since we were all expecting trouble this didn't stop us.

We made our way over to the abandoned house where the Lyrium was supposedly stored and stopped there. A few exchanged glances was the all the communication we needed. Carver would play meat shield, he would go in first draw everyone's attention. Then it would be me in my act as a Rogue. Then Bethany would cast buffing spells for Carver and I while Varric used his crossbow. This had all been discussed earlier.

As planned Carver charged in followed closely, and far more slyly, by me. The young warrior swung his sword and the screaming started. The thugs had been expecting one person so they quickly tried to surround Carver so that could trap him in their nets.

This was a bad idea as it left them open to getting either shot or stabbed in the back. Not that I did stab anyone in the back but a blow to the head was also very effective.

I was moving into the side room so that Carver had space to work and in that room I ran into a couple of proper rogues who were armed with batons. No doubt they had been intending to sneak up on Fenris and knock him out. Sadly for them I had been trained as a rogue by elves and some mean bastards so I knew their tricks.

Also I was actually a Mage so I sent them both rogues flying into the nearest wall with a telekinetic push, an act that gave Varric a chance to take one down with a bolt from Bianca. while I kicked the other one enough times in the head to knock him out. I wasn't quite use to killing human beings but giving them a world of pain was something I could easily deal with. They were after all slavers.

Carver meanwhile had opened the last door which contained two slave catchers. They were well armed but not quite up to taking on someone who had fought darkspawn. Carver literally took them apart, there were hacked off limbs everywhere. The guy was so messy in battle, yet oddly he had really nice table manners.

When it was all over I went to open the chest.

"There's nothing in it!" I told everyone

Only Varric seemed to be surprised.

"We need to tell Anso about this" Bethany said "he might not have known it was a trap".

I was sure that he was long gone by now.

"And get our coin" reminded the Dwarf.

My mind was on something else.

"Err, people" I said while looking out the window "there's a large group of armed men waiting outside for us".

I had forgotten about that.

"Someone's gone to a lot of trouble to set this up" growled Carver "if we get of this there's going to be some major pay back".

That Dwarf was in trouble.

"Well let's get of this alive first" I advised "then we can worry about revenge".

The pay back would involve broken fingers at least. Maybe the removal of his beard. I bet most dwarves would find such a thing a horror.

"Any sort of plan?" enquired Varric.

I turned to Bethany.

"Fireballs?" I asked

They'd served us well in the past, and the guys outside were expecting a runaway slave not two mages, a rogue and a warrior.

"Ice Cone" she reasoned "could freeze more than a few of them that way and no chance of burning down anyone's house".

That sounded good.

"Might work" I replied "there are two groups clustered together and frozen they will block the archers, assuming of course they have any".

That wasn't the only thing we needed to considered.

"What about exposure?" asked a concerned Carver.

That kind of magic would show people that Beth and I were mages.

"Kill them all, no witnesses" said Varric pragmatically.

That was a solution. I didn't like, but these were slavers.

"Works for me" said Carver.

We all spend a moment preparing and then we attack.

"That's no elf!" one of them shouted, earning points for observation "It was supposed to be an elf!"

Varric at least would never be mistaken for an elf.

"It doesn't matter" said another "We were told to take whoever came out of that building to..."

That was all they got to say as two Ice Cones froze most of the thugs. The rest of them seemed to have a great fear of either magic or death as they ran away.

Sadly for them there weren't going to be any survivors. Varric fired the only woman in his life to great effect while Carver created more messy body parts and then went off to shatter the statues.

Though it seemed rather violent it actually was very necessary as frozen people in the middle of summer screamed magic. Where as chopped up bits of thugs didn't and much easier to cover up as no one in the Alienage would talk about it, and dead bodies, evens bits of them, were a common sight in this city.

We surveyed the carnage and we looted the dead that weren't in chunks, well I didn't but Varric and Carver did. It was nasty, but we needed all the coin we could get after all.

Then a man in armour made an appearance. He took one look around and started virtually foaming at the mouth

"I don't know who you people are, but you made a serious mistake coming here!" he shouted "Lieutenant, I want everyone down here.. NOW!"

This guy was definitely not in a happy place, and it was about to get worse for him.

"Lieutenant!" he shouted again.

Nothing happened for a while, then a man stumbled into the courtyard and even in the dark we could see that he was covered in blood. He soon dropped to his knees in front of his superior officer and then died while making gurgling sounds. It was all very dramatic, messy and yet kind of funny at the same time.

Next a tall and lanky elf appeared. He followed the now dead man's bloody trail which led right to the chief thug.

"Your men are dead, or they have fled, and your trap has failed" Fenris said "I suggest running back to your master while you can".

Given that the slaver seemed to rapidly be losing touch with reality it was pretty clear to everyone that he wasn't going to follow that sensible advice.

"You're going nowhere, slave!" the man said.

The very bad and also mentally unstable man then placed his arm on Fenris' shoulder. In response the elf's hand glowed as he spun around and then he punched a hole through the man's chest.

"I am not a slave!" the elf roared into the night.

The former slave then turned to us then and apologised for misleading us. Next he explained that he needed us to help to deal with his former master, a powerful Mage called Danarius

That was when Varric told me that everyone else had earlier decided to help out Isabella with that duel thing. I was rather upset that the group had forgotten to tell me about this job, but I more upset that I had missed meeting Isabella. She was a sexy lady, then again maybe it was a good thing given that I had girlfriend who could use powerful magic. The last thing I needed was to make Bethany feel jealous.

With Fenris in the know about the duel taking place in Hightown it was decided that we would meet him by Danarius' mansion after that.

"Heck why not?" was all I said on the matter "Who needs sleep?

Fenris then left us. Which given that fact that I was Mage was something to be grateful for.

(Line Break)

 **Hightown.**

Soon enough we were in Hightown. Our group was too heavily armed to be a target for Muggers, the gangs were more of a worry but they seemed to be keeping their heads down. Perhaps they had sensed that it was a bad night to be wandering about, that or they were afraid of us.

"This is the place but Hayder's not here" said Isabella who was far too distracted to say something like 'hello'.

I took a moment or two to look Isabella over, she was definitely sex on legs. Nice big tits, good sized hips and an ass that looked as if you could bounce coins if it. Sadly for me Beth noticed my looking and hit the back of my foot with her staff.

"Ow" I complained.

The rest of my group snickered.

"That's her. Kill her!" someone then yelled.

What happened next wasn't even a fight. Isabella threw a knife, Varric shot one, and Carver seemed to appear out of nowhere to cut the last of the enemies down with his two handed sword.

Next came even more looting of corpses, this was not something I enjoyed.

"Maybe we should just start knocking people out and then we rob them" I suggested to the group "Then next time we could rob them again".

It would be profitable, but sadly my suggestion was ignored.

"They're at the Chantry" the sex bomb soon reported.

Isabela didn't waste any time and we were soon following her to the Chantry at what could be called a frantic pace. As soon as we rounded the corner we faced another group of hired thugs. This next fight actually required me to do something.

Granted all I did was stab someone, which was messy, but at least I was contributing to the group, and the guy I had attacked might live, assuming he stopped all his blood from leaking out of his injured leg.

Events then became too frantic for me to fully process, we dealt with yet another group of bad people and Isabella led us up the stairs and into the Chantry. Going to the Chantry was not a good idea. It was after all a Templar hangout. But no one cared what I had to say on the issue, that or I didn't say anything out loud, it was hard to tell given how frantic things were right now.

When we got inside the thugs made their threats and Isabella tossed a dagger, and I figured that I needed her to teach me that trick, because her aim was amazing. The weapon ended up inside the neck of one of the crooks and that signalled the start of the fight.

The lead bad guy and our new rogue friend had their fight while the rest of us dealt with the other scum. More were soon pouring in behind us. The start of the fighting must have been some of sort signal I figured.

Beth stunned the reinforcements with lightening while I sent a fireball at them which didn't do as much damage as I had hoped but it did knock them down. I then drew my short sword and killed, something else that I didn't like doing but sadly I was getting to use to it.

The fight was over soon and not long after that we had a new member in the team.

"I think I'll tag along for awhile. There might be something I can do for you to thank you all" she had told us.

The next part she said to me alone, and it wasn't until that happened that time seemed returned to normal. I was now to process things again.

"Oh and I have a room at the Hanged Man if you're looking for company later" the pirate offered.

Bethany almost snarled

"He's taken" she said.

Indeed I was.

"For now" replied Isabelle.

I sensed a girl fight coming and Varric's grin told me he was thinking along the same lines as myself. Carver was not happy, either because he didn't like the fact that Isabela had been flirting with me and not him, or he didn't like the fact that the rogue seemed to be planning to take me away from his twin sister.

However I doubted that Isabela would really do that. Most likely she was just teasing because it was doubtful she found me that attractive. It was either that or Isabela was flirting with me because I was already with someone else. People tend to desire the most what they can't have.

"Well I am planning a nice climb up the mountain" I told the captain "Maybe you can tag along".

Bethany nudged me in the ribs, and it hurt. My thinking now was that I so wasn't getting any tonight or maybe I would be getting a lot if Beth felt like making sure I was still hers.

"Come on, we need to go deal with that elf's problem" Carver reminded everyone.

Isabela decided to tag along and soon we were making our way through Hightown. Thankfully, the mansion was close by and once again we didn't run into any of the local gang bangers. No one had failed to notice that the regular thugs were out of sight. Either there was meeting we didn't know about or maybe it was their night off.

As I had expected Fenris was waiting for us just outside Danarius' mansion. So I was the only one who didn't jump out of their skin when he started speaking.

"Good you came. There's been no activity so Danarius has to still be inside" we were informed.

Or he was long gone or he'd never been here at all. Who knew what a Mage of his power could be up to. But such thinking was best saved for when we weren't out after dark and about the start fighting.

We followed Fenris into the mansion and he totally abandoned stealth in order to charge ahead. As for the team well someone had to deal with Shades. For demons they weren't that tough, but there were a lot of them so I had to resort to using magic.

The next lot of shades were tougher, or maybe it was the same group I didn't know, but we beat them and the Rage Demon which followed turned out to be susceptible to ice magic, which was something I made a mental note about.

As for the rest of the mansion, it was much the same, demons, dead bodies, the place had been trashed as well. I had no idea by who.

Finally we made our way to the main bedroom on the top floor. By now I used enough magic to really start considering the idea of getting more training. Perhaps from Anders as my spells weren't as effective as they needed to be.

As I had also expected there was no sign of Danarius, but it was a trap. Somehow entering the room triggered another Demon attack.

Bethany sent a fireball at the Shades while an Arcane Horror trapped Carver in some sort of magical prison. I hit the Horror with a bolt of lightning which stunned it. Then I went in with my sword and stabbed the monster, which was a lot more effective than then lightening.

With Carver free he showed us that he had his own way to deal with Demons, he hacked until there was nothing left, well there were ashes and a bad smell but that was it. Isabela didn't do too badly either, I figured she must of encountered demons before now.

Once all the enemies taken care of Fenris went outside to cool off, while the team looted. We seemed to do a lot of that, and this time it was a worthwhile haul. This evil Mage had left some sweet stuff behind. Including a staff that fitted nicely into my backpack but only because it had some sort of magic that expanded the inside.

"It never ends. I escaped a land of dark magic only to have it hunt me at every turn. It is a plague burned into my flesh and my soul. And now I find myself in the company of more mages" Fenris said as soon we walked out of the spooky house "You harbour vipers within your midst".

Given that it was late and I was tried I had no desire to deal with his issues.

"Yeah, yeah" I said with a snort "magic is the source of all evil in the world. No one who doesn't have magic is ever a bad person and all Mages are monsters".

My argument was ignored.

"Bethany is stronger than you think" said Carver

That was true.

"You tell him, brother" replied Bethany.

She failed to noticed that he didn't stick up for me.

"I imagine I seem ungrateful" said Fenris with a sigh.

At this point Bethany was already walking away so I went and joined her, which meant that I missed the elf offering his services to the group and anything anyone else might have said to defend me, which seemed unlikely.

It wasn't as if I'd wanted to be a Mage. No one had given me the choice. At least as far as I remembered.

Not that I minded being able to shoot lightening from my finger tips, but I was starting to see why so many Mages turned to Blood Magic. Get repetitively told that you're a cursed evil person for having magic and you're bound to be heavily tempted to start acting like one. Hopefully I'd avoid such a fall.

"It's been a long night" said Beth as she noticed me following her "Let's go go to bed".

Well she didn't seem mad at me anymore. That was something at least.


	5. 5 - Amell and Anders

**Mage Gothic**

 **5 - Amell and Anders  
**

 **Lowtown**

"So what's on the agenda for the day?" I asked.

I sat up in bed and looked over at Bethany, who was currently getting dressed. She tended to sleep in just the t-shirt I'd be wearing when I'd first arrived in this world. Which was understandable as it was made of cotton, which was a luxery material in this world. My top was much softer that the clothing she normally wore.

"Ready to leave our little love nest so soon" Beth asked.

We lived on the top floor of an abandoned house in Lowtown. The lower story of this bulding was filled with so much junk that you could barely move around down there, on the plus side it kept strangers away and if anyone did break while were in bed then we'd hear them sneaking around down there. Still while it private I'd hardly call it a 'love nest'.

"Not at all," I responded. "I just want to know how much time we have to kill".

Most of our time these days was spent trying to make as much coin as possible, as quickly as possible. Thankfully our group was made up of skilled people and already we were getting a repuation as a group who could get things down. I didn't doubt we'd have the money we needed, and perhaps even more.

"Not much" my fiance replied "We slept in. I should have been up at the crack of dawn making breakfast".

Bethany was very good at feeding me, and she knew spells that were very handy at keep our rather shabby home clean and free of vermin.

"What is it with you Hawke's and your early rising?" I wondered.

I soon got an answer.

"We were farmers" she reminded "Nobody really likes working on a farm but it is something we had to do to survive, so we had to get up and work from sunrise to sunset everyday".

My old life had been so very different. Where I was from machinery did most of the work and food was something you brought from the Supermarket I'd never worked for it.

"Come on lazy bones" Bethany was now saying "Get out of bed or they'll be no breakfast for you, as it we'll have to go over to mothers and hope she'll feed us".

I didn't doubt that she would. Leandra like many mothers I'd known over the years seemed to have super powers when it came to caring for her kids, and I was counted as one of them, she was always able to create a meal when required and she darned socks so well it was hard to belivie that there had ever been holes in them.

"Just let me get dressed"

This was somewhat tricky as Bethany had a habit of putting away my clothes, they were never where I'd left them.

(Line Break)

 **Lowtown**

"My children have spent the last year in servitude!" I heard Leandra yell as we entered the house that Gameln had failed to lose due to his gambling "They should be nobility!"

Gamlen tried to weasel his way out of showing Leandra the will but Carver and Bethany would have none of that. It was quickly decided that the three of us, along with anyone else willing to ehlp, would raid the Amell Estate by infiltrating from the sewers of Darktown.

After Gamlen left, to go blow more money at the Blooming Rose I didn't doubt, we sat to eat breakfast. Leandra's earlier anger had disappeared and she was soon in full on mothering mode.

She certainly seemed happier once she knew that our plan to recover the Will would involving sneaking into the house rather than trying to get in through the front door. Not that we would avoid danger going in via the basement, but at least they wouldn't know we were coming.

"Why do we even care about the Estate?" Carver asked his sister softly enough so that his Mother couldn't hear "It's not like our Grandparents even cared that we existed".

I had an answer to this question.

"We'll need someplace to live when we get back from making it rich down in the Deep Roads" I pointed out "and it would be nice to live somewhere bigger".

Bethany smiled at me.

"Plenty of room for children" she commented.

I had mixed feelings on having kids so I didn't say anything on that subject.

"True but does it have to be Hightown with all those stuck up nobles?" Carver wonderd.

Again I answered this query.

"Your family already has a claim to the place and that will save us money, we might not need to buy the place, just fix it up and maybe a bribe a few people" I informed Carver "And since your mother grew up in that house if the Hawke family move in you'll be seen as a branch of the Amell family who have come to reclaim the esate rather than strangers who don't belong. But more importantly you can't leave your mother's childhood home in the hands of slavers".

Both Bethany and Carver nodded their agreement, they would do this for their mother, not the grandparents they'd never even met.

(Line Break)

 **Lowtown**

The refugee centre was quite close to the Hanged Man as it turned out. It took a bit of effort just to get close to the place nevermind inside, due to the large amount of refugees who were there for help.

"Hawke, I'm going to stay out here," Aveline said. "It's too crowded and some of them might get even more nervous".

While Aveline was a guardswoman now she still found the time to come and give us a hand. Not that there was much she could do.

"I'll keep you company," Bethany offered.

Carver spoke next.

"Damn, I feel like we should be thanking Gamlen" he commented "We could've been them".

I'd spent most of the last year outside of the city, so I'd not seen how bad it was until now.

"It's nearly as bad now as it was when we arrived" Bethany went on to say.

I had to agree.

"It's the last surge of refugees," Aveline explained "From Deninurm I'd say".

I stepped inside the building with Varric close behind me. The small crowd of despairing people made my heart ache. But I carefully pushed my way through to a woman I knew to be called Lirene who was at sort of desk. She was hunched over a desk, trying to ignore everything as she scribbled something rapidly. When I got close, I coughed politely to let her know I was here.

"If you're in need of aid, leave you name with my girl," Lirene said absently as she kept scribbling "We help everyone when we can no one came from Fereldan without any trouble".

It looked as if she had life times worth of work ahead of her if that was the truth.

"I'm looking for a Fereldan Grey Warden," I told the woman.

While I knew that Anders was in Darktown, it wasn't as simple as going down there and finding him. Kirkwall was a major city, and Darktown was a maze. Plus we didn't want to enter the wrong place and find ourselves in the headquarters of criminal group, or worse wander into a slavers hideout.

"The only ones I know of are in Fereldan. One's sitting on the throne, and the Hero is ruling Amaranthine" I was told.

She sounded very defensive.

"Perhaps I should say 'ex-Warden', then?" I said

Lirene didn't speak.

"The healer used to be one," someone commented.

Now at least the woman behind the desk wouldn't be able to deny his existence.

"He's not now," Lirene hastily stated. "And he's busy enough as is".

For the first time the woman actually bothered to look at me.

"What do you want from him" she asked me "You've seen what Fereldans face. No home, no work. Often times, no food. But this healer… he tends to them without price. He's a good man. I won't lose him to the blighted templars for using his gifts to help people".

I could understand her concern, but it was misplaced.

"Don't worry I'm not with the templars" I assured the woman "He will come to no harm by my hand".

I leanded in and then held out the palm of my right hand. Then using my powers I made a small amount of harmless flame appear.

"Oh I see" Lirene said softly "Look for the lit lantern in Darktown. Anders will be within".

That was enough.

"Thank you" I replied.

I then made my way out of the building with Varric following behind, as we left I saw him drop a few coins int a collection box, and I wished that I had something to give. However I needed every copper peice I could get my hands on. Hopefully when I returned from the Deep Roads I'd be able to do something to help all this people.

Darktown

Around about lunch time we found ourselves about to enter the Amell Estate. Varric, Fenris and Isabela had both joined up with us for this raid, neither of them were fans of slavers either so they had no problem breaking into the esate.

After breakfast we had gone to gather supplies for our trip to the Dalish camp. It was going to simple to get to Mount Sundermount, because it was a mountain and thereofe easy to see. However we didn't know where the Dalish camp was, they tended to move around so even thought the elves would be near the mountain there was still going to be a large area to cover.

Thankfully Beth and I had spent most of the last year as smugglers, very little of that time was actually spent within the city. Smuggled good spent a lot of time in caves and hideouts, as such I'd learned to survive in the wilderness, and part of that involved tracking animals.

Since the Dalish were hunters, they would be tracking game around the mountain so by doing the same we should run into one of their hunting parties who would be able to led to their camp once we explained why we needed to talk to the Keeper.

Another option would be to find an elf inside Kirkwall who knew where the Dalish were. Then we would pay them to show us the way.

"Ready?" Carver asked.

Him speaking broke my trail of thought and I began focusing on the here and now rather than the future. The only remaining male memeber of the Hawk family had produced the key and we followed him into the dank, dark hole. The secret entrance to the Estate was well hidden and Bethany had to produce a magical small flame before her brother was able to find the door.

We pulled our weapons free as quietly as possible as Carver Hawke opened a hatch above us an inch. He looked into the house before gently closing the hatch.

"There's two men in the room but they aren't really paying attention" the warrior reported "and I saw some people who were tied being led into another part of the house. They must be slaves"

Slavery was illegal everywhere aside from Tevinter, but that didn't stop them from taking slaves from outside the empire. However the empire couldn't admit to doing that so we if shut down this operation they would deny its existence meaning we'd never get into trouble for killing these slavers and setting their captives free. Well not any legal trouble.

"We came here for mother to get Grandfather's will but I will not leave people to that fate" Carver declared "I say we free the slaves and kill every one of these slaver bastards."

This was why I'd suggested inviting along Fenris. My hope was his opinion of mages would improve if he saw Beth and I fighting slavers. I didn't know if it would, but it was clear he wanted to fight the slavers as he scrambled quickly up the ladder followed closely by Carver.

I was next up the ladder with Bethany and Varric following closely on my heals. A couple more slavers had come to help their friends once the fighting had started but it was over before I had even had a chance to do anything. So I turned and offered a hand up to Bethany and then Varric.

"Alright, stay close and check every room" Carver ordered "Who knows where they are keeping these slaves".

We did as he wished checking every room as we went. We only ran across slavers and they were quickly dispatched by either Fenris or Carver, and since they needed room to swing around their massive swords the rest of us wisely kept back.

As for me I spent my time imagining what these rooms could be used for in the future. I planned to learn a lot more about magic once I had a proper home to stay in and money for books. I'd make myself a nice study down here away from others.

We moved quickly through the cellar and made our way to a set of stairs. We went up a floor and it appeared there were more slavers in this part of the house. Carver and Fenris charged forward, and soon blood was spraying the walls.

Then we found the room that contained the slaves. Inside there were cages filled with men, women, children, human, elves and even some dwarves.

Isabela started opening the cages and letting the people out, they were all very grateful.

"We need to get these people to Ander's clinic," I said then. "They'll need healing".

Carver than had something to say.

"Bethany, Gothic" he said "We'll find the will, everyone else can take these poor people to the clinic".

I'd not yet met Anders, so I wanted to go with them, but I got the sense that Carver would want both his sister and his future brother-in-law, with him when we found what we were looking for.

"Are you sure about this?" Varric asked. "We could leave them here and come back for them."

Bethany spoke next.

"No, they needed healing now" she said

Once it was just the Hawke twins and I we came across another set of stairs and I began to realize just how big the Amell Estate truly was. Its tunnels went from Darktown all the way to Hightown, and the basement level was huge. I'd be able to store a lot of stuff down here.

Soon we came across a storeroom with the Amell family crest. Once inside I started going through chests while Bethany and Carver talked about the family crest. Carver actually seemed a lot more interested in his past then he had over breakfast.

"So what have we got" Beth asked once the family history had been discussed "Found the Will yet?"

That was in here somewhere, but I hadn't found it.

"A few letters to your father from someone called Carver, maybe you were named after him" I said to the twins "Some letters to your mother from your grandmother, and a few replies that I guess were never sent. And there's some coins too, but no deed of ownership or the will".

Bethany took the time to talk about her Dad, she seemed to have gotten into a sentiamental moond.

"I wish I could have met him." I said once she had finsihed "He sounds like a nice guy".

Not that I wanted to really as I was currently sharing a bed with his daughter. Fathers weren't suppose to like the people their daughters hooked up with, and he'd been a mage so he could have done nasty things to me.

"He would have liked you" Bethany assured me "He might have given you a rough time at first but that would have been only to protect me. You remind me of him sometimes".

I took Bethany in my arms and hugged her in comfort. It was clear that she missed her father. He was, for all intents and purposes, her role model. A mage who had lived free from the Circle without falling to corruption.

"Come on, we've got a will to find" I said

It had to be around here somewhere.

"Found something" Carver informed us.

What he'd discovered was a wall safe behind the crest. I figured we'd have some trouble breaking into it, but it wasn't a big concern as even if we couldn't magic it open then one of the rogues we knew would be able to unlock it for us.

* * *

(Line Break)

 **Darktown.**

Anders made one hell of a first impression. When I'd first laid eyes on him he was healing a boy, who probably should have been dead. Disease had clearly ravaged the little guy and his parents looked worried beyond rational thought. Perhaps, that was why they had sought the aid of an apostate. Not many would risk it as the Chantry had a done a good job of making people afarid of mages, even those inside the Circles were feared.

In those few minutes, it took for Anders to heal the boy, I could see why the Warden-Commander had wanted him. Anders was an amazing healer and very powerful I could feel his magic working, it made me feel tingly like there was a charge in the air.

Anders was finished and it looked like he going to faint, however I wasn't caught off guard when he suddenly turned to face us and looked ready to fight.

"Be warned I have made this place a sanctum of healing and salvation" the mage stated "Do not threaten it?"

That was when he locked eyes with me, and his face went through serveral expressions, surprise, happyness and then fear. It was very odd to watch.

"I'm not going back!" he shouted.

By now people were leaving the clinic, you didn't need to be a mage to tell that magical energies were being called upon.

"Back where?" Carver asked.

His question wasn't answered as Anders was now to busy starting at me.

"Hold on" he then muttered "You're not a Warden, none of you are".

This was not news to us.

"No we are not" Carver said, speaking for the group.

Anders relaxed somewhat.

"So you're not here to take me back to the Keep" he said while looking at me "Who are you are you?".

I didn't know if that first part had been a question or not, but I answered anyway.

"No we came for the maps" I explained "and my name is Gothic. I'm a mage like you".

To prove this I made magical flames appear in my hand. They were harmless only producing light.

"Well either you're his brother or I'm seeing things" the Grey Warden was saying "I think we should sit down and talk Gothic, there's something you should know about".

(Line Break)

 **Chantry**

By the time night had come I'd spent hours talking to the Grey Warden, he'd told me all about the Warden-Commander who shared my name, he was convinced that that the Hero of Felderan and I were brothers.

Since I had two brothers, neither of which looked that much like me I didn't think this was the case. My theroies were that either that there somehow another me running around, or that at somepoint I'd travel back in time and become a Grey Warden.

Thinking about that had led to me remebering when I'd met Flemeth. She'd spoken about a brother, and something about power. Until now I'd just though it was insane ramblings, but now it seemed to be more.

Then we'd gone on to talk about the maps. Anders wanted nothing to do with the Deep Roads, and for that I could not blame him. However just like the game he was willing to trade his help for ours.

Anders had then explained about his friend Karl, who he came to Kirkwall to free from the Gallows. As a fellow mage I can understand that. I certainly wouldn't want to be locked up for the rest of my life, and Bethany shared that view. The others had come around as we really did need those maps.

Which was now we were standing outside the Chantry where Karl was waiting for us as the bait in a trap.

Thankfully we were all on guard and we moved slowly as went up the stairs to where Karl waited. Even without my knowledge of the game I could tell that there was definitely something wrong with the man, even before he turned to face us I could tell because his moves were so robotic.

As expected Templars suddenly began closing in on us. Anders went full into Justice-mode while Bethany and I unleashed our magical power. For all intents and purposes Templars were my mortal enemies as such they needed to die. I attacked with a ruthlessness that I hadn't know I possessed. In the past fighting had been about staying alive, tonight was different.

The battle was over much quicker than it should have been. I was sure that if weren't for Anders, Bethany and myself unleashing ourselves to our fullest it would have taken a great deal more time.

As I had expected, Anders killed Karl in order to free him, and this understandably upset the man. This left us with a load of bodies to deal with, and for once nobody wanted to do any looting.

"Let's just go" Carver said "There'll be more Templars coming soon".

That was wise so we all headed for the door. We could get the maps later, for now we needed to get off the streets so that no one could connect us to what had happened here.

(Line Break)

 **Lowtown**

After spending more time with Anders, so I could learn more about magic, I entered into the house I shared with Bethany to find the Hawke twins sitting at a table

"Don't say anything. We're counting the money," Carver said.

I waited until they were finished before speaking.

"So, what have you two been doing while I've been attending Hogwarts?" I asked as I flopped into a chair near them.

Bethany and Carver both gave me an odd look.

"Attending what?" Beth asked.

Since I didn't want to get into that I switched topics and asked them about what they'd been up today.

"Well, we did a job for Isabela," Bethany told me "we recovered some lost cargo".

Hopefully it had been profitable.

"'Legitimate' cargo," Carver added sarcastically "And we helped out this horrid man with his mine".

The Bone Pit I assumed.

"Of which we own half of" Bethany added "Then just some odds and ends that needed to be dealt with.

It seemed as if everything was going well.

"Oh and because we don't want to deal with the git who owns the other half of the mine we but your name as partner" Carver informed me "So next time there's a problem with the place you can deal with it".

I'd figured there would be dragon slaying at some point during my time in Kirkwall. I just hoped it wasn't any time soon, as I so wasn't prepared.

"Gee, thanks," I said without meaning it.

If this was the kind of stuff they could get up to without me around then I would have to keep a better eye on the twins. Otherwise I'd come home one day and find out I was the king of a small country that was currently being invaded by demons. That or something involving assassins.


	6. 6 - Daisy and Flemeth

**Mage Gothic**

 **6 - Daisy and Flemeth**

 **Lowtown**

I was currently sitting in the Hanged Man writing in a small book full of empty pages while waiting for Carver, Bethany and Varric to arrive. According to the message they'd left at the bar they were off busting the corrupt guard captain that was putting his fellow guards in danger. I would have gone with them, but Carver, who had cleary taken charge of the group, had decided not to take everyone with him. I didn't know what his reasoning for leaving me behind was, and while I was worried about Bethany going off without me I was a little glad to have some time to myself.

Mostly I was glad because I'd reached the point were I wasn't sure who I was anymore. Phyisical I hadn't changed that much, sure I'd lost weight and my hair had grown enough that I could keep it in a ponytail. Also I had a lot of facial hair. I badly needed to shave.

My attire was different too. I wore light armour, the kind smugglers in these parts wore, and I carried weapons. Anders had given me two pistols, which he'd taken from Vigial's Keep before fleeing.

He wasn't sure why he'd done that, but he'd told me that it felt right to pass them onto me, and I was grateful for that as while they were only simply flintlock pistols they were powerful as they used silverite bullets and the bang required to send those bullets deep into a monster's body was provided by Lryium dust.

The pistols were nothing compared to the rifles the dwarves were using to drive out the Darkspawn. There were stories aplenty about the spawn being slaughtered down in the Deep Roads by an army of dwarves with not only guns, but also cannons.

I had a short sword strapped to my belt and a dagger in my boot. So I figured I looked like quite the rogue, and that was good because if any Templars came in here looking for mages they wouldn't glance twice at me as I blended in with all the other rogues.

My peace came to an end when someone pressed her breasts into the back of my head while wrapping her arms around my neck.

"So, Gothic, when are you going to let me show you a good time?" a sultry feminine voice question.

Carefully I put down the quill I'd been writing in so that none of the ink messed up what little I'd been able to write this evening.

Months ago I'd acquired an empty book, that was meant to be used a journal, and I'd been jotting down that I could remember about the sciences known on my world. Sadly it wasn't going well as I could only recall bits and peices of useful information, and by themselves they would never led to anything of value.

So far I had found no way of magically enchaning memory, which was a shame because I was certain that many of the things I'd learned while in school could benift the people of this world.

"Come now, don't you want to have a little fun?" the pirate said as she rubbed my shoulders "My bedrooms not far".

Isabela could have any man in this room if she wished, but not me and either she enjoyed having someone safe to flirt with or she liked a challange.

"Why must you torment me so?" I asked.

The shoulder rubbing did not stop.

"I'm not tormenting you" Isabela said "if anything I'm trying to pleasure you".

What I hated most about this was how tempting it.

"Why me?" I asked.

I hadn't been expecting an answer, but I got.

"Well at first it was because I thought you were the Hero of Felderan, undercover for some reason and that was why you acted as if we'd never met before. I figured if I got you alone you'd tell me what was going on" the pirate told me "and then Anders explained that your his brother or something like that. Now I just want to compare".

I tried to forumlate a reponse only then the door opened and I turned to see Bethany, Carver and Varric walk in. The reactions varied. Carver and Bethany both looked jealous, but for different reasons, as for Varric he looked amused.

"I'm not interrupting something am I?" Bethany asked when she got to the table "Should I come back later?".

Isabela did not make things better.

"Ah Bethany, good to see you" she greeted "I'm just keeping our friend here company".

There was never an attack when I wanted one. Right now Templars kicking down the door would be a welcome sight.

"So it would appear" Beth replied.

It wasn't hard to detect the venom in her voice.

"Everything go okay with Aveline?" I asked in hopes of changing the subject.

Lucky for me it worked.

"Apparently Aveline's in line to be the new Guard-Captain" Carver informed me.

As expected.

"Good for her" I said.

Isabela was still touching me, but only my shoulders and I acted as if wasn't happening.

"So we're all set to get rid of the amulet" I was now saying "I really want to be rid of the thing".

Bethany nodded her head.

"I know, so do I" she agreed "I don't like having that debt hanging over my head either".

Isabela finally stopped feeling me up and took a seat at the table we all sitting around

"Where are you going?" she asked.

Carver filled her in.

"We're heading up Mt. Sundermount to give an amulet to the keeper of the Dalish Elf camp there" he explained.

"Well, you lot have fun" she said seductively with a wink before heading to the bar "I'll be here if you need me".

Varric suddenly started to laugh.

"Boy Gothic, you certainly have a way with women" he said.

That I did, I just didn't think it was always a good thing.

"Yes, aren't I lucky" I muttered.

Carver again took charge, for which I was glad as it drew attention away from me.

"Well me might as well get going" the warrior said "The sooner we delivier this amulet the sooner we go back to making money".

He led the group out, with Varric and Bethany close behind with me bringing up the rear. I was looking forward to getting out of the city for a while, and not just because of the dead Templars we'd left in the Chantry, although that was part of it.

(Line Break)

 **Mount Sundermount.**

After days in the countryside we finally arrived at the Camp and were stopped by two elves acting as guards.

"Hold Shemlen" The male guard said "your kind are not welcome here".

I'd known we wouldn't get a warm welcome.

"What's a shemlen?" Carver asked.

I knew so I told him.

"The Elven word for human, it means Quick Children" I answered as I stepped forward to address the elves "We've not come here to cause trouble. We have an amulet for Keeper Marethari".

This startled the elves

"How do you know that name?" the male elf asked.

The other elf's eyes lit up in recognition.

"Wait" she said "these must be the one's the Keeper spoke of. The ones we were to wait for".

That was us.

"Shemlens" the first guard said surprised" I thought they'd be elves".

Well not all of us were human. Varric was a dwarf, although he lacked a beard so maybe they thought he was just a small human.

"Please, enter the camp" the female warrior invinted "the Keeper has been expecting you for some time".

The group walked into the camp and once inside I saw many elves, most of whom were giving us dirty looks. I was getting a very Welsh vibe from them, and since I was Welsh this shouldn't have been so unsetteling.

Soon I spotted an elf by a fire pit who looked older than the others so I went over to her.

"Marethari?" I called out.

When she turned to regard me I took out the glowing amulet and showed it too her.

"I was told to deliver this to you" I then said.

The elf took the amulet and looked it over before looking back at the group.

"Welcome. I am indeed Keeper Marethari" she said before stepping closer to me "Now let me look at you."

She examined me for a while, it was strange.

"You are human, yet not at the same time as those with you. A mage and more" she mused "Tell me young man, how did this burden fall upon you?".

Since this was a magic thing, Carver was happy to let me deal with it.

"Asha'bellanar gave it to me in exchange for helping me and my friends to escape the Blight".

I used the elvish name for Flemeth, it meant something like 'woman of many years'

"Ah, yes I see it now" Marethari said "and I'm afraid your part in this is not over yet. The amulet must be taken to the top of the mountain and given a Dalish rite for the departed. Then return the amulet to me. Do this and your debts will be repaid".

That sounded simply, but it wouldn't be.

"Are you going to teach us this rite of the departed?" Bethany wished to know.

Marethari shook her head.

"I will send my First with you" she told us "She will see to it that the ritual is done. And when the ritual is complete, I must ask that you take her with you when you go".

No surprises there.

"Ma nuvenin" I said, which roughly translated too 'as you wish'.

Bethany now had another question.

"First of what?" she asked.

I answered since the Keeper felt no need to.

"In our terms the First is the Keeper's apprentice" I explained "If something happens to the Keeper, then the First takes her place".

Elves didn't like to share information about their culture with humans, so the Keeper found my words surprising.

"You seem to know much about the elven ways young one." Marethari commented.

I couldn't tell her how I know, so I had to come with something that was true, but not the total truth.

"There are sources of information about the Dalish out there" I said "and some of its been recorded in books".

Marethari simply nodded and I decided to change the subject before anyone started to wonder where these books were being kept. That might exist, but I had no idea where they were to be found.

"You'll find Merrill waiting for you on the trail leading up the mountain. Dareth Shiral." She said.

I knew that was good bye without needing to understand the words, and so did everyone else.

"Great, now were going up a mountain" Carver complained as the group walked away.

Since he wore metal armour it would be more of a trek for him than for the rest of us.

"No one's forcing you to climb up there, brother" Bethany said "You can go home if you wish".

Given that we'd come under attack on the way up I was very glad that we had him with us. I also wished we'd brough Fenris, but given all the magic that would soon take place that may not have been wise. At least we had Anders with us, not that he was being great company.

"Perhaps spend more time with Mother and Uncle Gamlen." Bethany then said.

That sounded like fun, not.

"And listen to him complain all day, no thanks." Carver replied.

In short order we got to the base of the mountain and saw someone hunched over, and I got that tingle of magic again. I never sensed that from Bethany for some reason.

"Oh! I didn't hear. You must be who the Keeper told me about. Aneth ara." She said in greeting before she suddenly looked sheepish. "I'm so sorry, I didn't ask our names. Unless...it's not rude to ask a human their name, is it?"

The group looked at her for a moment before Bethany spoke up.

"Oh I could just eat her up" she said.

She was super cute. She had big brown eyes like a puppy.

"She doesn't really mean that does she?" the elf asked.

We all laughed.

"Its just an expression" I assured the elf before introducing everyone "My name is Gothic, and this is Bethany my bethroed, her brother Carver. That's Anders and Varric".

Carver, Anders and Varric made only small noises when there names were called out. They didn't seem like Merrial as much as Bethany and I already did.

"I'm Merrill, though you probably already knew that" the First was now saying "I'm rambling sorry. I don't have much experience with your kind".

She was still being cute, it had to be the eyes, they were adorable puppy eyes. I had to stop looking at them.

"Have you been waiting for us to deliver this amulet?" I asked.

We started to walk before Merrill answered.

"The Keeper brought us here to wait for you" Merrill told us. "All I really know is that you have Asha'bellanar's amulet and that it must be taken to the top of the mountain, so I can perform a ritual".

I figured she was lying about that, she knew more than she was saying, but so did I so I didn't judge.

"Do you know the witch that sent us here?" Carver asked.

Again the elf didn't answer right away.

"Not personally" Merrill said "I've heard stories though. You're very lucky, most people who meet Asha'bellanar are torn to shreds".

Given that she could turn into a dragon I wouldn't be suprised if that was the case.

(Line Break)

We were silent during the first small part of the hike up. That is, until Merrill started babbling.

"We wouldn't be here if the Keeper hadn't told us to wait" the elf was saying.

I decided to speak if only to prevent Merril from babbling for so long that she passed out of oxygen depravation.

"You were waiting for the amulet?" I asked.

Of course I already knew this, but the others didn't.

"Yes. You took a long time to get here" she said "Oh, not that I'm accusing you! Or trying not to accuse you. Um…"

She stopped and blushed before turning her face away from me.

"How much farther is it?" Anders asked from the back

This was a mountain so I figured it would take a while.

"I don't think much farther?" Merrill replied "Oh, I hope I haven't gotten lost again".

Somehow she managed to make herself seem adorable yet again. At least to Bethany and I. Other memebers of the group didn't seem like her so much.

"There's only one trail up this blasted mountain," Carver pointed out.

"Well, yes" Merril agreed "But sometimes when I come up here I see something pretty or interesting, or both, and wander off. I'm trying very hard not to".

Varric chuckled nervouslly.

"Maybe we should go back and get another guide" he suggested.

I doubted we would get lost, because as Carver had reminded us earlier, there was only one path.

"Sorry I'm still not used to walking up here alone," Merrill explained "Oh, but I know where I'm going! Mostly".

It was a wonder to me that she wasn't already an abominaton.

"So, as a First, you know magic?" Bethany asked.

I figured that Beth had realised it was time to change the subject before someone started yelling.

"Yes. All Keepers possess the old magic. It used to be that all elves had the gift, but, like many things, it was lost" we were told "and even the magic with now isn't much compared to what we had. I've heard stories of elves with gifts that no longer exisit".

"Far-Sight being one of them," Anders added "The Warden-Commander had that gift it was how we knew Amaranthine would come under attack. If he hadn't forseen then the citzens wouldn't have known to evactute using the smuggler tunnels".

I knew that it was far more likely the Commander had played the video game, and simply planned ahead using that knowledge. That was what I would have done in this place. Perhaps one day I would do the same.

"It is a gift," Merrill stated.

Before anyone else could comment we encountered another elf.

"Ah, there you are," the elf said.

It seemed like the Dalish took great delight in not offering human a proper greeting.

"So The Keeper has finally found someone to take you from here?" the hunter said.

"…Yes…" Merril mumbled,

She started looking at the ground.

"Good" the hunter said before turning to us "Finish your business quickly and be gone, shemlen. We cannot be rid of this one fast enough".

The awarkward slience that followed came to end when Anders decided to make a comment.

"I'm starting to wonder if Velanna was tame compared to the normal Dalish" he said.

Our guide jumped at the chance to talk about something that had nothing to do with what had just happened.

"Who?" Merril asked.

Ander was happy to explain, most likely because no one else really cared to hear his stories about his time with the Wardens. I already knew the important bits.

"A Warden" the mage said "We never got along, she didn't get along with anyone really, aside from Ser-Pounce-A-Lot"

Now people wanted to hear the story.

"My cat" Ander expalined.

"You really named your cat Ser-Pounce-A-Lot?" Varric asked.

Anders grinned.

"He pounced a lot!"

"Did he have a knitted cap?" Merrill asked "And a sword?"

I was now picturing that.

"No but he did fight Darkspawn" he told her.

I was shocked to hear this.

"Wait, did you take him into the Deep Roads?" I asked.

That was a horrible thing to do to a house pet.

"Once or twice" Ander said "He got scared of a genlock and whacked it in the nose. Drew blood, too.

Animal crulity aside, that was kind of badass.

"I don't know if I should be more worriedabout your cats or your ability to name them" muttered Varric

(Line Break)

 **Mount Sundermount.**

We made it to the top of the mountain much sooner than I would have expected and better yet we didn't come under attack, I got the feeling the elves had cleared the path if only so we'd spend less time here, however, a barrier still blocked our path. Merrill brought it down with blood magic, and this caused Anders and Beth to get very upset. I remained much more calm as I didn't see Blood Magic as the big evil others did. After all the Templars used to track down mages who escape the Circle and the Wardens used it doing their Joining ritual.

"I'm sure I don't have to tell you of the dangers of messing with demons" I said.

Merrill was not concered.

"Demons are just spirits" she replied "It's not there fault that they are what they are".

I shook my head.

"Wrong. There's a huge difference between the two" I corrected "Spirits aren't so bad, but demons are bad news".

No one else said anything until we got to the alter. Then I took the amulet and handed it to Merrill. She approached the altar and placed the amulet down. Next she started to chant in the elven language and suddenly a light flashed and Flemeth appeared.

"Aaah, and here we are!" Flemeth said.

I was the only one in the group not surprised, or at least that was I thought was the case. When I looked at our guide I noted that while she was nervous she wasn't as shocked as everyone else.

"Andaran atish'an, Aha'bellanar," Merril greeted.

Flemeth turned her head to look at the elf.

"One of the people, hmm? So young and bright, you are. Child, do you know who I am, beyond that title?" scary dragon lady asked.

Even I didn't know that much about Flemeth.

"Only a little" Merril admitted.

"Then stand" the witch of the wilds instructed "The People bend their knee too quickly."

As Merrill stood up, Flemeth turned to face me.

"It's so refreshing, so see someone keep their end of a bargain" she said "I half-expected my amulet to end up in a merchant's pocket".

Scary dragon lady then got off the altar and walked over to me, it was as if she could only see me. Which was a little worrying, but I manged not to freak out.

"As promised. I brought your amulet here" I told the witch "My debt to you is repaid".

I felt the need to say more.

"Sorry it took so long" I said "We got a little sidetracked".

I wasn't the only one to speak, the shock seemed to be wearing off.

"So what happens now?" Bethany wondered.

Flemeth looked at her as if she'd only just noticed that Beth was even here.

"Destiny awaits us all young lady. We have much to do" Asha'belannar replied "Now before I go, some advice. We stand upon the precipice of change. The world fears the inevitable plummet into the abyss. Watch for that moment...and when it comes, do not hesitate to leap. It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly".

Cyrptic rubbish as expected.

"Must be nice to be a dragon" I muttered to myself "I bet the wings come in handy when trying to fly".

Flemeth found that amusing.

"Indeed they do" she agreed before looking me right in the eyes "You will be a dragon".

Somehow she managed to make that sound bloody terrfying.

"Now the time has come for me to leave" Asha'belannar went on to say "You have my thanks... and my sympathy."

Flemeth said as she walked toward the edge of the mountain, then she shapeshifted into a Dragon and flew off.

I then turned to Merrill.

"Now then, what do we do with you?" I wonderd "Do you have somewhere to stay in the city".

In the game there was a house waiting for her, but this was real life so I didn't assume things would be the same.

"The Keeper told me to go with you" was all the cute elf had to say on the subject.

Bethany had an idea.

"We could clear out the bottom floor of the house" she suggested.

I didn't want to do that, it seemed like a lot of work and Carver seemed to agree judging by the grunt he made.

"You have coin now" Varric reminded "Just pay some lads to help you move the stuff. A lot of people need work".

That was a good point.

"Okay, Merrill" I said "You can live with us, but no blood magic in the house".

She agreed to that, however I didn't think she'd keep that promise.


	7. 7 - Arianni, Feynriel and Samson

**Mage Gothic**

 **7 -** **Arianni, Feynriel and Samson**

 **Lowtown**

Not long after getting back from visiting the Dalish, the entire group met in Varric's room at the Hanged Man to discuss our progress, or at least that was the excuse, mostly we were just drinking.

"Speaking of coin," Varric said "How much do you have? It's been about a week since we started trying to come up with the fifty sovereigns".

Truthfully I'd lost track as once we'd earned the money, and counted it, the coins were kept safe at the moneylenders office, which was the closest thing they had to a bank in this city. While it did cost us a little to keep money safe there, it was worth while as in Lowtown a stash of coins would quickly be stolen.

"You can't really expect anyone to get fifty sovereigns in a week, Varric," Bethany told him

Well it had been more than a week, since going to see the Dalish had eaten some time. Still we were making money, mostly due to people investing in us. Even Isabela had thrown a few silver coins into the kitty to help the Hawke family and I realise our dream. Then later Anders had donated some silver coins as well, which had been a pleasant surprise given how little he had.

"Oh, no. We're writing a book together," Isabela was explaining to the group "Besides, I'm not his type"

Clearly I'd zoned out for a moment, and had missed something.

"I prefer dwarven women," Varric informed us. "And by 'prefer' I mean 'I am not even slightly attracted to anyone else save Bianca'".

It was a little creepy to hear someone talk about their weapon like that. I'd not even named my sword, in fact I was even sure that it was the same sword I'd picked up when first meeting the Hawke family. I was almost certain that my current blade was one I'd gotten during my smuggling career.

"That would be less offencive if you didn't say that you were attracted to your crossbow," Bethany said.

Clearly my future wife, was in agreement with me.

"Don't listen to her, Bianca. She couldn't possibly understand" Varric said soothingly to this weapon.

Now it was more than a little creepy.

"You know, we should make plans," Isabela said, eyeing Fenris carefully "and not just for who we'll be sleeping with tonight".

Somehow I was both happy and unhappy that the pirate had chosen someone else to tease.

"Not interested," Fenris said flatly.

At least he handled it better than I did.

"Yeah you are," Isabela disagreed. "I can always tell. And one of these days, you'll even take me up on my offer".

I wondered how many fanfics out there had those two shipped together.

"You've never made me an offer," Fenris said, sounding a little confused.

Isabela laughed.

"Please. I make everybody an offer if they're cute" she corrected "Well, that or rich. Preferably both".

For once the cute blood mage spoke up, she'd rarely said anything since moving into the city so it was good to her speak about anything.

"I know someone who needs help and can pay" Daisy informed us "Well she can't pay very much".

We all listened and once the elf was done we followed her out of the pub.

(Line Break)

 **Lowtown**

"Here are my friends" Merrill informed another female elf when we met her at Alienage "Everyone, this is Arianni. She left the Clan a while ago to raise her son here".

The other Dalish stood and curtsied, and I saw the faded markings on her face. Which made it clear to me that she had been Dalish at one point. City elves never wore those marks.

"Thank you for coming" she said along with a short bow.

"It's no problem, Arianni," Carver said "Merrill said you needed some help, but she didn't say what with".

Soon we were told what we needed to know in order to start the quest.

"It's my son, Feynriel" the elf explained "He's run away, and I fear for him. You see Feynriel's a mage, but he's been having dreams lately. Awful nightmares about Demons,"

Arianni needed a moment to calm herself before she continued.

"I went to the Templars" she admitted "so that he could go to the Circle. I thought they could help him."

Anders was not pleased.

"Are you serious? You turned in your own son!" he shouted.

No everyone was as upset about this as he was,

"She did the right thing" Fenris told him.

I knew I had to stop them from fighting.

"Anders please this isn't the time" I said.

The mage liked me, and seemed to think I was a lot like the Warden-Commander so he listened to me and made an attempt to relax. It mostly worked.

"But... The Templars? I..." He shook his head and shivered. "I'll be outside for a moment".

Turning on his heel, Anders quickly moved away from the rest of the group. Fenris gave a derisive snort as he watched the mage go. Thankfully no one else in our group commented on what had just happened. Which was good because it wouldn't do to have outsiders realise how divided we actually were on the subject of Mages and their freedoms.

"Is he a mage as well?" the older Dalish women asked.

Carver again spoke for the group.

"He is as is my sister, and my friend" the warrior said while gesturing at us "Now we need to find your son before these nightmares become reality. Do you have any idea where he might have gone?".

We soon got an answer.

"It's possible that we went to his father, Vincento" we were told "He recently returned from Antiva, and is selling his wares in the Lowtown Bazaar".

Which wouldn't open until morning, but it was still our best option since I couldn't quite remember this quest. I knew it how it ended, but not much else.

"Then I guess we'll go to the Bazaar and ask him" Merill said "Don't worry, Arianni. We'll find him"

The older woman looked ready to cry.

"Oh, thank you!" she said "And please, convince him that going to the Circle is his only hope".

Hopefully we'd have the option to send him to the Dalish.

"May I come, or should I stay here with Arianni until you get back?" Merrill wondered.

While I liked having her around, but I was worried she might get hurt if there was fighting.

"I don't mind if you come, Merrill" Bethany said before turning to her brother "Do you have any objections, brother?".

He did not.

"Oh goodie, I'll just get my things!" she said cheerfully before stopping in her tracks "No wait, the market doesn't open until the morning. I should go to bed first".

With that we left the elf woman's house.

"Does she ever climb into bed with you and Bethany" Varric asked me "I bet she does, it likes you two got a kid rather than a roommate".

It wasn't me who answered the question.

"That won't happen again" Daisy promised "I was homesick, and there was a storm. It was scary".

Having two girls in bed with me should have been erotic, that night had not been.

As we headed back to the house, Bethany, Daisy and I shared, Fenris leaned in and whispered something to Carver

"Another mage?" the elf said softly "Are you sure that's a good idea to bring her with us while we try and find a young apostate?"

Carver spoke more loudly, but no so much so that anyone outside of the group would overhear.

"If other mages approach him he might be more inclined to listen to them rather than run away" Carver argued "It'll be fine, Fenris. Trust me".

(Line Break)

 **Lowtown**

"The Bazaar is always so confusing. Are you sure we can find this merchant?" Merrill wondered.

She had a point. It wasn't such a large market, but it was packed with people. That made it hard to find what you were looking forward as you had navigate the crowds. Thankfully the shoppers here were smart enough to move out of the way of our group, we all carried weapons and Carver wore heavy armour. Which was intimating.

"Well we can to just go up to merchants and ask them if they have a run-away son" Carver mused "Or if they've just come back Antiva".

Fenris stopped walking, and we all noticed this, so we stopped to see what was wrong.

"That's your plan?" he asked.

I didn't see a problem with it, there were a finite number of merchants in the city and an even smaller amount here in this marketplace. Sooner or later we'd find the right person.

"Do you have a better idea?" Carver wanted to know.

Fenris shook his head and frowned.

"No, I do not" he admitted.

They reached the Lowtown Markets, and everyone stopped and stared at the multitude of merchant stalls.

"Found him" I said.

Everyone looked at me.

"Vincento's Fine Antivan Goods" I read out "its on that sign over there".

Apparently no one else had thought to read the signs. Fenris had an excuse at least as he couldn't.

"Come on" I then said.

We all walked over the stall.

"Ah, greetings" the man we sought said in thick Antivan accent "How may I serve you today".

Sadly we were saving our money so we wouldn't get to buy any new toys.

"Ooh, what a lovely accent!" Merrill declared.

Kindly we all ignored that outburst, there was no sense in embarrassing her.

"We are looking for Feynriel" Carver said "Arianni asked us to find him".

The man looked flustered for a moment, but quickly regained his composure, and then lost it again when Fenris stepped forward. I didn't see what the elf did but it must have been bloody scary as the trader looked ready to piss himself.

"I told him to find a man named Samson down at the docks" the merchant told us "It is rumoured he used to be a Templar, but now helps mages escape".

Fenris was still being... well Fenris so Carver took this chance to make more queries.

"When did he come to see you?" he asked.

This question was soon answered.

"Last night" the merchant told us "Just as I was closing up shop. He... he's not in danger, is he?".

Sadly he was, but Carver didn't say that.

"Where did he go?" the warrior demanded to know.

Again he was not denied information.

"Darktown" we were told "I don't know where exactly".

Fenris backed away, and I found myself edging away from the scary elf.

"Right lets head down to the docks" Carver said "Maybe Anders knows where to find this Samson".

If the former Templar was involved in helping escaping mages then it made sense that Anders might be able to help.

(Line Break)

 **Darktown**

When we got to Darktown we started looking for Samson. Anders pointed him out soon after rejoining the group, and I wasn't impressed by what I saw.

"Feynriel's father sent him to a lyrium junkie?" Bethany said "Somehow I'm more concerned about this boy than I was when we started looking for him".

Which was impressive given how much she deeply cared about other mages.

"He's an ex-Templar. They all become addicted to lyrium, and rather than kick the stuff, they do whatever they can to get more" Anders explained.

I'd known about this, but others hadn't.

"Addicted to lyrium?" Fenris asked, looking perplexed.

Someone would have to explain about that later as we didn't have time for that right now.

"Excuse me, are you Samson?" Carver asked.

He eyed us suspiciously, looking as if he might bolt at any moment.

"And if I was?" he asked.

While Carver wasn't the perfect leader, having him in charge meant that at least I didn't have to talk to people like Samson.

"We're not here to cause you harm," the warrior assured him. "We're looking for a young man named Feynriel. His father Vincento told us he sent him to you. We need to find him".

Samson relaxed somewhat.

"Yeah the poor blighter didn't have a copper in his pocket when he came to see me" the former Templar told us "And if I help even one mageling for free, I'll never get paid again."

Anders scowled and folded his arms.

"I pity any mage who is forced to rely on you for protection" the Grey Warden muttered.

He wasn't the only one with an opinion.

"Come on he's just a boy" Merrill said "You should have helped him for nothing".

Given that we weren't doing this free I figured we had no right to judge Samson, besides the guy didn't look as if was making a fortune in his current line of work.

"A potentially dangerous boy," Fenris pointed out.

Carver decided to cut the discussion short.

"If I give you some coin, will you tell us where he is?" the warrior asked.

Samson's eyes lit up.

"Well sure" he said

Carver then handed over a few silver coins.

"But so help you, if whatever you tell us doesn't lead us to the boy, I'll be back for our money," he promised.

Samson pocketed the money and shrugged.

"I sent him to a ship captain I know named Rainer" the former Templar told us "He takes on stowaways sometimes, and he took another apostate I sent him last week, though that was a girl".

And right into slavery if I remembered correctly.

"So she became a sailor?" Daisy asked "Just like Isabella!"

Samson looked down in shame.

"Well, maybe not..." he admitted.

Samson might be about to die.

"What do you mean?" Carver pressed.

He didn't answer right away.

"Well... Word is that Rainer does dealings with some... Um... Slavers" Samson admitted.

To my complete lack of surprise, Fenris grabbed the former Templar and threw him against the wall.

"Tell me where you sent the boy" the elf demanded.

He didn't need to bother with a verbal threat. It was perfectly clear what the elf would do if the correct information wasn't supplied in a timely manner.

"Okay, okay!" Samson yelled "Rainer's base of operations is at the Quays Warehouse, its in Lowtown near the docks"

Fenris let the ex-templar drop to the ground.

"Mage or not, I will not let them have the boy" the elf then declared.

For once we all in agreement, even Anders and Fenris, which was just weird.

"Let's get to the warehouse" Carver said "We've already wasted enough time, and now we've got a slavers to deal with".

(Line Break)

 **Lowtown**

We all raced to the warehouse, and Fenris broke down the door with one punch of his lyrium-infused fist. Once the door had hit the floor we all heard a terrified shout that sounded like it came from a young girl.

"Someone, anyone, help me!" she called.

We all did some more running.

"Get her hands! I heard they can't do no magick without hands!" A man's voice said.

We found a girl of maybe thirteen who was on her knees, surrounded by a group of men and what looked like fire. As they watched, her body warped and contorted, until she stood up as a lumpy, misshapen creature.

"You know nothing of magic!" it yelled.

It was an abomination.

"No, please!" Anders begged.

I reached for my guns.

"Oh blessed Creators... That poor girl..." Bethany whimpered.

I felt more sorry for the rest of us than the girl who was now host to a demon.

"Kill it!" the slavers screamed, drawing their own weapons.

"Kill them all!" Fenris yelled.

Then he and Carver were charging in, sword slashing at the nearest target. The abomination didn't last much longer than the slavers as Fenris took it apart with his sword. I didn't even get a chance to shoot anyone. Not that I really wanted to even though I also hated slavers.

"She was desperate," Anders said softly.

Then he slammed his staff down, the sound echoing through the building. He glowed for a moment, but then calmed down. By the looks of things Justice had been barely contained.

"I think we found where Feynriel is" Isabela soon informed everyone "I found this note. The slavers have a ship waiting down at the docks".

(Line Break)

 **The Docks**

When we got the docks we found some armoured men hanging around a ship. Rather than sneak in or even come up with a plan of attack,Fenris and Carver just walked inside as if they owned the place.

A robed man, who had be their leader, saw us and grinned broadly.

"Well boys, looks like we have volunteers!" he said "Clap 'em in irons and we'll see what the Tevinters' will pay for 'em".

The elf warrior in our group didn't like the sound of that.

"What did you say?" Fenris said through clenched teeth,

As for me I aimed one of my guns at the head slaver. He'd been so fixed on the others that he hadn't even spared me a glance. That was his mistake.

"Do you know what this is?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Good" I said "Now if you wish to remain breathing for a while longer, I suggest you answer our questions, or you can chose not to and find out what its like to get shot in the head. I bet its hurts".

None of the soldiers had ranged weapons, in fact that they hadn't even drawn their swords. Meanwhile my group had spread out, and they did have weapons ready.

"Um... I... Okay..." the slaver stammered.

I was glad that I could also be scary.

"Now we're looking for a young friend of ours" I told the slaver "he's an elf-blood human, and he was sent to you by a man called Samson. Tell me where he is?"

I soon got an answer.

"Some of my mates took him to the Wounded Coast." I was told "Some Tevinters should be by tomorrow with the payment for him".

I took a pouch of money off the head slavers belt and held up into the air.

"Carver take this and give it to whose ever in charge of the nice people with swords" I instructed.

While keep my eye on the eye who was possibly a mage I addressed the other slavers.

"If you take the money and go then no one has to die" I offered the thugs around us "or you can fight, but that way you won't get to spend any of the money. Its your choice".

Mercs were practically people. They took the money and walked away. As they did I backed away, but I kept the gun pointed at the mage.

"Fenris," I said "I'll leave him to you".

The elf's markings flared again as he stepped forward, and the smile on his face made it clear what he was going to do.

"This will only take a moment" he said.

He shoved his fist into the man, and we all heard his heart go 'squelch' as he dropped dead.

"Well I must say that was one of the easiest fights we've had in a long time" remarked Bethany "Not that we really did any fighting".

I smiled at her.

"Most mercs will just take the gold and leave" I told her "they aren't in for anything other than the coin and don't have any loyalty. Plus they like staying alive".

Isabela made a happy noise before walking over to a chest and began picking the lock. After a moment of rooting around in the container, she turned around, and I saw that she had a map in her hand as well as a pouch of coins as large as the one I'd given the thug. This slavery thing seemed to be quite profitable.

"Now we don't have to search all the caves on the Coast" she said "they've even marked a handy shortcut for us".

This was good news.

"Let's hurry. We need to beat the Tevinters there," Anders insisted.

His view wasn't shared by others.

"Not necessarily," Fenris countered "We just need to arrive before they leave, it might be better to ambush them out in the open rather than attack them in their base".

Since that was smart I agreed with the idea.

"We need to keep Feynriel safe," Merrill insisted "What if they hurt him while we wait".

That was when something struck me.

"What if he turns into an abomination rather than let the Tevinter slavers drag him away" I pointed out.

Nobody wanted that to happen.

(Line Break)

 **Outside Kirkwall**

We ran the entire way to the Wounded Coast, only slowing down when we feared we might be heard by any guards the slavers might have posted.

"According to the map were here" Carver said as we all dropped down in order to reduce the chances of being seen "and there aren't any guards at the entrance. That was very foolish of them".

At least it made things easier on us.

"So, shall we go kill some scum?" the warrior asked us.

We all liked that idea, even me and normally I was a fan of not hurting the people we met.

"Yes," Fenris replied,

He then headed into the cave, and he looked as if he'd didn't care if the rest of us followed or not.

There was no resistance until we came across a group of armed men. One of them was standing on an overhang, and had put a knife to the neck of a young man.

"Not one step closer, or the boy dies!" he threatened.

I found this to be stupid.

"If you kill him then what's to stop us from killing you?" I asked "He's only good to you alive".

The leader of this group of slavers looked a little lost for words, this was something Carver used to his advantage.

"We killed the men you had down at the docks" he lied while looking at the armed thugs around us "and we have enough coin to make it worth while letting this one go. If you put your weapons away, you can take the money and walk away".

The armoured men did just that, much the annoyance of their leader.

"If you don't let the boy go we'll kill you" Carver warned him "and we'll do it slowly, or you can surrender and spare yourself a lot of pain ".

He did just that, and so Fenris killed him quickly.

"Who sent you? Was it the Templars?" Feynriel demanded to know.

If I were him I'd be either thankful for the save or freaked out about how Fenris had just snapped someones neck.

"No" Carver said "You're mother sent us to find you".

Feynriel was not happy to hear that.

"She's hardly any better" the boy complained "My whole life it was 'I'll love you and protect you', but then I have some nightmares and it's off to the Circle!"

To be fair given that nightmares here were caused by demons tormenting you in your sleep it was a big deal. Even more so if you were a mage. Normally a mage couldn't be possessed during a dream, for reasons I didn't understand, but Feynriel wasn't a normal magic user.

"And she is right," Fenris told him.

I spoke then, hoping to avoid a debate.

"Your mother was just doing what she thought was best" I said to the boy "she was trying to protect you from the Demons in your nightmares. You can't blame her for that".

That got through to him.

"I... I guess not" he admitted "But, why do you want to help me?".

It was now someone elses turn to speak.

"Because some of us are like you, Feynriel," Bethany said, while holding a harmless ball of fire in hand.

Anders, Merriel and I stepped forward before producing our own flames.

"Then, will you help me a little more?" he requested "I'm trying to get to the Dalish."

Carver spoke next.

"I'll leave this up the Mages" he decided "Its your business. The rest of us can look around see if the slavers left anything behind worth selling".

Once the non-magic users were gone Bethany had a question.

"Why the Dalish?" she asked.

Feynriel soon answered.

"They've had magic forever" he explained "If anyone can help me, it's the Keeper".

I'd chose elves over the Circle any day, at least the Dalish would only tell me sod off. The Templars would lock me up.

"Oh yes, the Keeper will help you… Help you go deaf from listening to her go on and on and on..." Merrill grumbled.

Her view wasn't shared.

"Actually, that's a wonderful idea," Anders stated. "The Keeper trains him, the Clan keeps him safe, and no one has to go to the Circle".

"Are you sure this is what you want?" Merrill went on to say "Even though you're half-Dalish, you still look very human. It'll be hard to fit in".

Feynriel shrugged and smiled a bit.

"But no Templars, and no risk of being made Tranquil" he pointed out.

After meeting Karl I understood how horrible being a Tranquil was. Having all your feeling stripped away, it was like being a machine.

"So... Will you help me?" Feynriel wished to know.

There was still more discussion.

"Merrill, do you think the Clan would accept him?" Bethany asked.

She didn't answer right away.

"I... Yes," she replied after a moment. "The Keeper would want him to be safe".

Plus she would need a new First.

"Then it's settled. We'll escort you to Sundermount" Bethany decided.

The Hawkes always seemed to take charge, not that is something to complain about as they did a decent job of it.

"Someone should tell his mother," I interjected "she has the right to know what's happening to her son"

I was sure that my mother would want to know that I was alive and well.

"So who wants to volunteer for that lovely job?" Anders wondered.

I knew I'd have to do it.

"I'll go talk to Arianni" I said "I guess everyone else can head to the camp. It won't take long now that we know where it is. They won't have moved on yet".

They wouldn't for years, not unless I did something about the magical mirror that Daisy had at my house. I had a plan for that, but it would have to wait until most of us were off down in the Deep Roads

"We'll meet at the Hanged Man for drinks" Bethany said to me "Just behave while I'm gone".

I'd try my best, but I wasn't going to make any promises.


	8. 8 - Sebastian, Vanard, and Javaris

**Mage Gothic**

 **8 - Sebastian, Vanards, and Javaris**

 **Chantry**

Before we met the others at the Hanged Man, in order to plan out yet another day of money making, Carver had decided it would be a good idea to visit the square in front of the Chantry in order to see if the Maker's flock required any services to be performed.

It was rare for Mothers and Sisters to need outside aid, as they could call upon the Templars if they needed warriors, but now and something happened that the Templars either couldn't or wouldn't handle.

When Carver, Bethany and I got to the square we stumbled upon a heated argument. A young man who wore bright armour, something that would make a massive target in battle, was trying to attach a parchment to the Chanter's board, while an elderly looking priestess was attempting to talk him out of something.

"Turn back from this, Sebastian!" the elderly woman pleaded. "This is murder!".

That got our attention.

"No, Your Grace," the man replied in a determined voice. "What happened to my family was murder".

With that he attached the parchment firmly to the board and walked away in a hurry.

Once the woman, who I knew to be the Grand Cleric was gone we all approached the board and looked at what was on the parchment

The ruling family in Starkhaven - my family - was brutally murdered. This foul deed was carried out by the Flint mercenary company, therefore I offer a bounty on the head of each Flint Company soldier in Kirkwall.

Signed, Prince Sebastian Vael!

"Might be too dangerous to take on an entire mercenary company" Carver mused "even with the whole group. Maybe we could ask the Iron Bulls for help. We'd have to split the bounty with them, but it could still add up to a lot if this Sebastian is really a prince".

Before anyone else could comment someone else was yelling, and this time at us.

"You there, Fereldans!"

I turned to see a nobleman, who was dressed in finely crafted red robes, approaching us swiftly.

"I've heard you have dealings with certain... shady elements in the city" the noble then said more softly "You're the kind of people that can get things done for the right price, and more importantly you can do without everyone finding out".

Carver spoke for the group as he often did, at least when it wasn't on the subject of magic. When stuff like that came up he wisely let the mages in the group deal with things.

"I think I know what you mean" the warrior replied "and the answer is, yes, as long as the pay is good".

The noble seemed pleased.

"My name is Vanard, I am a magistrate in this city," the man stated. "I would like to hire you for a small, albeit important task".

We waited to hear the details.

"A man that I had sentenced to prison has fled and is hiding in an abandoned ruin just outside the city" the noble, who I figured was a kind of judge, told us "I'd like you to retrieve this fugitive and hand him over to the guard."

There was something sleazy about this man, more than just simply being a noble, but coin was coin.

"Tell me about this abandoned ruin" Carver said in a tone neutral enough that it couldn't be called either rude or eager "Is it filled with dangerous creatures?".

I was impressed by how well Bethany's brother was handling the noble, he was dealing with the man in a very straightforward manner that didn't display his own personal feeling towards nobles, which I knew to be mostly negative.

"It is probably an old Tevinter Ruin, I do not know the details," the magistrate explained in a rather disinterested voice. "It is no more than a mile outside the city gates, and yes there are some creatures in the ruins, they killed many in the first group of guards that went in after the fugitive".

Which meant there could be darkspawn, but that wasn't a deal breaker as we'd battled those creatures before, and we had a Grey Warden we could call upon.

"The second group we sent has now set up camp at the entrance" we were then told "So far they have done nothing since the new Guard-Captain seems to object to needlessly endangering her men".

Carver wished to know more.

"These creatures, what are they?" he asked.

The noble didn't delay in answering.

"I don't know what they are" he said "but they are certainly dangerous or I would have no need for you".

Bethany then asked something.

"If these creatures are so deadly then won't they have killed the criminal?" she wondered.

That did seem likely, only now I was remembering which quest this was so I knew that wasn't the case.

"The criminal might be dead, but we need to be certain of this. If he is still alive, bring him back, quickly and quietly" the noble commanded "Not only will you have generous monetary reward, but also the gratitude of a city magister. Useful for a Fereldan refugee, wouldn't you say?"

Vanard smiled and I didn't like the expression.

"Especially when your mother is petitioning to the Viscount about your family estate" the noble then said "Succeed, and perhaps I can speak to the viscount for you. But should you fail, I will make sure you live in the squalor for the rest of your life".

For a moment I wondered if Carver would kill the man, but as it turned out I need not have been concerned.

"Very well, Magistrate" the warrior said "if this criminal is still alive when we find him, then he will be handed over to the guard and no one in our company will speak on the matter once the job is done".

The Magistrate nodded curtly and hurried off, not doubt he was unwilling to be seen in our presence a moment longer than was necessary. The feeling was mutual.

(Line Break)

 **Outside Kirkwall**

Once the gang had been gathered we all headed out of the city and so far the trip had been a peaceful one.

As soon as I'd finished thinking that I heard some kind of commotion further up the highway, and as we approached, we discovered what was going on.

Several highwaymen had cornered a hapless looking dwarf and what appeared to be his two human bodyguards, by the looks of things the bodyguards weren't going to be able to do their jobs.

"Well we can't have that, honest people getting robbed in broad daylight" Carver said.

Just being seen by the crooks was enough for the bandits to pause, and when it became clear that we weren't going to be intimated, the highwaymen retreated.

"Hey I know this guy," Varric said as they approached the thankful looking dwarf. "It's none other than Javaris, the merchant I told you about".

Again I figured I'd missed out on some conversation, but to be fair there was a lot going on. In the video game version it was much easier to keep track of quests, in real life things tended to be forgotten and other matters had to be dealt with, such as ensuring everyone ate and got a goodnight's sleep.

"Javaris Tintop" the dwarf said as he addressed us "at your service and very much alive thanks to your intervention".

He then turned to his bodyguards.

"No thanks to these bloody fools" he then said "consider yourselves fired with immediate notice!"

A bit mean, but I could hardly blame him given how much they failed at their rather important job.

"So, are you still looking to hire some muscle?" Carver asked "We'd be interested to earn some coin".

The dwarf rubbed his beard thoughtfully before he replied to Carver's question.

"Now that you mention I'm looking for someone to help me with a deal I've got going with the Qunari" he told us.

This was met with surprise by everyone, other than Daisy, who didn't know what the big deal was, and by myself since I'd been expecting this.

"You have a deal going with the Qunari?" Fenris asked.

It was clear that he didn't believe this.

"That's right," Javaris said "Those horned creatures have some kind of explosive powder. I'm hoping to persuade them part with it. I already went to have a talk with their leader, that Arishok fellow, but he wasn't exactly reasonable. Threatened to throw me out and he said only the Tal-Vashoth were this mercenary".

There was no deal, in truth Javaris was trying to make himself look good so that Arishok would bargain with him.

"The Tal-Vashoth?" Merril asked, sounding confused.

I was about to answer, but someone beat me to it.

"Those who have turned from the teachings of the Qun," Fenris explained. "They are then outlaws of the qunari society, hunted and killed without mercy".

AKA rebel scum.

"Yeah anyway, I'm thinking, maybe if I help the Arishok get rid of these Tal-Vashoth, he just might be impressed enough to share his secrets" Javaris then said.

We all looked at each other before anyone spoke.

"He would appreciate that," Fenris confirmed. "But if you think he would share anything with those who are not of Qun, then you are a foolish dwarf".

The bull people didn't seem like the sharing kind.

"Bah, what do you know," Javaris said with a scowl "Listen how about I just pay you for every Tal-Vashoth you kill".

This was tempting as the outcast bull men were raiders, they attacked traders so they needed to be dealt with.

"I have been hearing many tales of them slaughtering lost travellers on the Wounded Coast" Varric said "so cleaning them out would be something appreciated by many people. Including the Viscount".

Which was another good reason.

"Varric is right, the Tal-Vashoth are dangerous," Fenris agreed.

Other people had opinions too.

"I would prefer not to get involved with the qunari," Isabela said. "But I'll help kill them if the coin is good".

Then there more questions.

"Where are these Tal-Vashoth?" Carver asked.

Varric again supplied information.

"On the Wounded Coast" he said "A charming place ripe with bandits, wild creatures and slavers".

I'd been there during my smuggling days, and more recently, there were a number of caves used to store goods that were illegal in Kirkwall. Ships leaving that city would send rowboats and crew to collect the goods out here so that the guards inside Kirkwall wouldn't find any illegal goods if they inspected the ship while it was docked.

"We'll take the job" Carver decided.

I wasn't too worried about this quest as outside of the city, we mages could unleash our magic without concern of being seen by Templars.

"I'll be waiting on you near the qunari compound at midday tomorrow" Javaris said. "See that you're not late. I'm not keen spending so much time near those goat heads. You know what they say... the bigger the horns, the shorter the patience..."

I'd never heard that expression before, however it wouldn't surprise me if it was true.

(Line Break)

 **Outside Kirkwall**

After even more walking we made it to the site that Magistrate Vanard had spoken about. We knew it had to this place as the banner of the Kirkwall guard had been planted in front of an entrance leading inside the ruins. The site had been buried for the most part, but there was enough visible to confirm it was Tevinter.

There was a small company of guards either standing or sitting outside the ruins, some were playing games involving dice or cards, while others guarded the entrance. Clearly they'd been here for a while.

Close by an elf was sitting on some rocks, and he was looking intently into the entrance of the ruin. If I recalled correctly he was the father or a elf girl who had been taken into the ruins by the crook we sought.

"So you're the reinforcements we've been promised?" the leader of the guard asked

The man stood up and came forward to meet them, since he wasn't wearing his helmet I could see that he was middle aged man. Also I could tell that he was very happy to see us.

"I'm Lieutenant Nabil, glad to met you" the guard greeted before he got down to business "The man you're looking for is still holed up inside, if he's alive".

Before any of is had a chance to ask about the possible dangers inside the ruins, the lone elf rushed towards us.

"So you're really going to bring that bastard in alive after all he's done?" he ranted angrily. "Just because it's not shemlen children he's after..."

What followed those words was hard to make out so we had to wait for the man to finish before anyone else could take a turn to speak.

"Actually haven't been told about the man's crimes" Carver said "we were hired to hand him over to the guard so that he can be locked up".

The elf was not happy to hear that.

"He's taken my daughter into those ruins with him. She's surely dead by now and I demand retribution!" the man shouted. "My girl, Lia, she wasn't even the first victim, he's taken many over the years and not once has he paid for his crimes".

There was flaw in that statement.

"Given that he's an escaped criminal, that implies he has been tried and sentenced," Carver replied "and we're not here to set him free he will be handed over to the guard, if he's even alive".

Again the elf was upset, and no one blamed him for being so as he every right to be mad.

"Bah, little good it did, and I'm not surprised he had such an easy time escaping," the elf said.

Carver was also unhappy, and so was I. We hadn't been the ones to decided the crook's fate nor that we set him free. If anything we were trying to make things better.

"Now look here... " Bethany's brother started to say before he stopped himself down "What's your name?".

The elf calmed down enough to reply.

"Its Elren" he told us "I'm a merchant in the city".

Carver then carried on talking.

"Elren, I don't care what your opinion on the courts of Kirkwall is, I'm not going to take the law into my own hands here. If he's alive, I will bring him back to Kirkwall. If he has killed your daughter, I will bring him before the courts and testify myself to make sure he is imprisoned for a long time" the warrior said "the new Guard-Captain in Kirkwall is a woman I've known a long time, and she will make sure this man does not escape for the second time".

The elf just threw his hands in the air from despair.

"You've no idea how things work for us elves" he said "There will be no justice for my girl. You'll see".

Once the elf was gone the guard spoke.

"Sorry about that, he's been a pain in the arse for a while now," the lieutenant apologised. "I'm tempted to have him locked up for interfering with officers of law who are just carrying out their duty".

That would be a bad idea, and I wasn't the only one who was thinking along those lines.

"If you do that you will simply confirm his views on the mistreatment of elves" Fenris stated

Carver once more took charge of things.

"Enough talk we're heading in" he said before turning to the guard "What exactly are those creatures in the ruins?"

If they were darkspawn and had we brought Anders would have sensed by now, and he would have warned us. However he wasn't here as he was busy at this clinic.

"I saw some risen corpses shambling about," Nabil replied. "One followed us back out, and it took a two men to hack it to pieces".

This did not sound good.

"Is the criminal a mage?" Carver asked.

That seemed unlikely because if he was it would be Templars out here rather than the City Guard.

"I don't think so" Nabil replied "but I admit we weren't told much about him".

Which made sense as the judge guy wouldn't want people knowing too much. The crook was after all his son.

"Okay let's get in and do the job we're being paid for" Carver said as we headed for the entrance "Fenris and I will go in first, everyone else support us. Bethany, Gothic, Merril, don't start throwing spell about unless you can be sure of what your hitting, and make sure we've got plenty of light. Oh and healing too. Varric you just shoot things, and Isabela you stab anything that Fernis and I don't finish killing".

With that Carver led the way inside.

(Line Break)

 **Ruins**

Once we were inside groups of shambling corpses slowly approached us and as planned Carver along with Fenris raced forward so they could do the whole hack and slash thing that they did so well.

Meanwhile my fellow mages and I made sure there was plenty of light. I didn't know any spells to support fighters, but Daisy did and she was busy casting, while Bethany saved her magic for healing

Once we'd cleared this part of the ruins we proceeded onwards, stopping to destroy more and more groups of the dead things. They were hard to hack apart so I could see why the guards would have had trouble, but our group had mages in it as such when we came across large gangs of undead we just froze them solid, when that happened it was a simple matter for the warriors to smash them.

Several more groups of animated dead later, we found ourselves a large, we were expecting another attack of the demon-possessed corpses, but instead of that, we saw a man sitting down on the floor, leaning back against one of the pillars. His clothing suggested someone of nobility, and the face under the hood appeared youthful but troubled.

Also there was a young elven woman, she looked a little worse for wear, however she didn't seem to be too badly harmed. Which was good news.

"Please, don't kill him!" she pleaded. "Please, whatever he's been doing, it's not Kelder's fault!".

Clearly a case of Stockholm syndrome. The man had dragged her down here with the intention of killing this poor girl, and now she defending him. It was so messed up.

"We have no intention of killing him" said Carver in a tone of voice that suggested otherwise

Bethany, always the caring one, went to the elf's side.

"I'm guessing you are Lia?" she said.

The young elf nodded.

"Your father will be overjoyed that you're still alive" Beth went on to say "My friend Merril and I are going to take out outside. Don't worry you have my word that Kelder won't be harmed".

The stern expression she sent Carver's way ensured that he wouldn't kill the guy, and the look I got told me that on the off chance her brother decided to risk his sister's ire, that I was to stop him.

"A-alright," the elf agreed "it's not his fault for hitting me, it's the demons, they told him to do it!"

As soon as the girl was gone Kelder spoke.

"Don't listen to the girl, I beg you," the crook said in a pleading voice. "Kill me. I can't control the demons, they will force me to kil... those elven children... so beautiful... so pure..."

I didn't think this guy's madness was due to demons.

"Demons?" asked Carver "Are you a mage?".

He sought of answered.

"Father brought me to the Circle... had them look at me, and they claimed the demons were not real and I was just mad, but I know they're there," Kelder told us "Even now they are whispering, threatening me for defying them... oh, I could not kill Lia, she was so... even after I hit her, she... she felt sorry for me!"

Seemed like schizophrenia to me, but I was no expert on metal disorders.

"So, is he possessed or just insane?" Fenris asked.

The pirate answered.

"Don't care, we need to bring him back, just tie him up and hand him over to the guards," Isabela said.

And more importantly get paid for doing it.

"It complicates matters if he truly is possessed," Carver mused "If he is, then he will have little trouble breaking out again".

I was about to point out how unlikely it was that an abomination would let itself be locked up, but the crazy dude didn't give me the chance.

"Ha, ha, ha, I won't have to," Kelder cackled maniacally. "Father will make sure of that. Good old Father! He tries so hard to help me, but he keeps making it worse".

That sounded like many fathers I'd know ever the years. But unlike mine, they at least tried to help their children.

"How can your father arrange your release?" Carver wished to know "Who is he?".

Again I tried to speak, in this case so I could change the subject, but the mad man spoke before I got the chance.

"You know him" Kelder replied "he hired you"

Now that cat was out of the bag.

"Magistrate Vanard" Carver realised "The magistrate is your father".

I had hoped that no one would find that as it needlessly complicated things.

"So the elf outside was right," Fenris growled. "He's not going to stay in his cell for long".

Yet if we killed him we'd not get our coin, and an upset magistrate could be a problem for us all. Thankfully I'd had plenty of time to think of a plan.

"I have an idea" I told the group "Fenris can you knock him out. We can't risk him running off".

The elf stepped forward.

"What? No! Can't you see I deserve only death?" Kelder shouted, while getting up from the floor. "Don't throw me back in the prison! Please!"

Fenris punched Kelder in the face, really hard. The young man staggered and slumped back against the wall, slowly sliding down to the ground.

"Thank you, Fenris" I said to him before addressing the rest of the group "Now tie him up. Trust me its for the best if he truly is possessed then we don't want to risk these demons taking over his body".

Moments later, Varric, Isabela and Fenris were busy securing Kelder.

"So, what's the plan, Gothic?" Carver asked.

I was happy to explain.

"We promised Vanard to get this guy back behind bars" I said "but we didn't make any deals about what happens to him once he's back with the guard".

If things worked out the way I hoped we'd get our coin without leaving the crazy guy in any state were he'd be a threat to more elf children.

"Do you plan on having him killed?" Fenris asked,

I couldn't tell if he disapproved or not, and really I didn't much care.

"No" I told the elf "I won't need to".

I then went on to explain my plan.

(Line Break)

 **Outside Kirkwall**

Nabil and the rest of the guards were waiting for us outside.  
Bethany and Merril were with Lia and her father Elren, the elderly elf was I had expected not satisfied with simply having his child back.

"What are you doing?" he shouted, looking at the tied man. "Didn't you see how dangerous he is? How many elven children..."

Carver got upset and marched over to the upset elf.

"I've had about enough of you," he snapped angrily "We got your daughter back to you unharmed, you should be thanking us".

Elren was quick to take Lia's hand and get away from the scene, sending us a few dark glares, while his daughter's pity filled eyes were locked on Kelder.

"Can you take him?" I asked while looking at Nabil and the rest of the guards "Lock him up in the cells at the Keep and ask the Guard-Captain to assign two men to watch over him at all times. It's important not to give him any chance to escape. He must not be left alone".

The officer was confused.

"A little... unorthodox, but I suppose we can do that," Nabil said.

The officer then ordered his men to take the prisoner from Varric and Fenris.

"Next stop, the Wounded Coast," Carver said.

This day was going to be a long one. I could sense it.

 **The Wounded Coast.**

Rather than head back to the city we'd carried on to the coast, we had the supplies we needed and a time limit on killing the bull people crooks so it had been best to do now rather than go back. But that hadn't been the only chance to make money while out here.

"That was fun" the pirate said as she cleaned blood of her daggers "But I do hope we're getting paid for this".

In fact we were.

"By a royalty no less" Carver said "Prince Sebastian Vael of Starkhaven. According to the note he put up someone hired these mercenaries to murder his whole family and he's offering a reward for every one of them killed".

What the mercs were doing out here on the Wounded Coast was a mystery, but not a big one as there were plenty of other criminal groups living in these parts.

"Our expedition's going to be well funded" Varric stated "and I'll keep a note to shoot any Flint Company man I see on sight. Hopefully the Prince doesn't require their heads as proof".

Not only would that be gory, we didn't have any silver platters to present them on.

"Good point, we need some proof" Carver realised "everyone spread out and look for some".

Hopefully they would have matching rings or something like that.

"Same about the qunari," Isabela said. "Javaris isn't just going to believe us if we tell him we killed two dozen of those qunari who are not qunari".

Bounty hunting was nasty work as people didn't just accept that you'd killed someone they wanted dead, they required proof, and sometimes this could involve body parts.

"The Tal-Vashoth," Fenris corrected her before going on to offer some advice "We could chop off their horns, that should serve as proof enough. Danarius once ordered me to take chopped off qunari heads and stick on the fences that surrounded his home, we could do that but the horns wouldn't be as heavy to carry".

Danarius was a sick, sick man. I'd gladly kill him should I ever get the chance.

"Yeah let's just take the horns" I said.

That was when I noticed that Isabela was staring at the wild, open sea.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

Isabela sighed.

"You know, ever since I ended up in Kirkwall, I have avoided thinking about the sea" she told me "Easy to do when you're in the city, bit not out here".

I had no love of the sea, which was understandable given how terrible my last trip on a boat had been. Being stuffed in a cargo hold with a bunch of frightened people was not a fun time.

"If we strike it reach in the Deep Roads maybe you will be able to afford a ship," I said encouragingly.

She'd invested some coin so she desvered a share of the treasure we found down there.

"You think so?" Isabela replied hopefully. "I miss the seas so horribly. I miss that feeling standing at the bow of my own ship, feeling the gentle rocking..."

She went on like that for a while so I tuned it out.

(Line Break)

 **Jail Cells**

I stood outside the cell and I was pleased to see that Aveline was taking this seriously. Kelder's hands were still tied behind his back, and two guards had watched over him every moment he'd been here.

"For someone supposedly possessed by demons, he's been easy to deal with" the guard-captain said as we moved away from the cell "and if he's a mage she should have been able to escape".

Even now he begging for someone to put an end to his suffering, then he went into a rant about the captivating beauty of the sweet elven children he was going to kill, which made me want to kill him.

"I can't sense anything" I said "and even if he is a mage that doesn't mean that's the reason he's killed people. I think he's just broken in the head".

While I had some knowledge of mental illnesses I couldn't be sure if Kelder was just crazy, but even if he was there was no one in this world able to help him and no place like the Arkham Asylem in which to hold. He couldn't be locked away in a normal prison, a mage could escape such place or if he wasn't magical then his father might free him.

"Magistrate Vanard sent him to the Circle and they found nothing" I then told Aveline "but I'm worried that if he isn't a mage then they just brushed off magistrate's concerns, or they might have let him go because he is a mage and they didn't want to have to lock up one of their own".

The guard-captain looked concerned.

"I wasn't aware that demons could posses ordinary people" she said.

Few people were.

"Oh, it's been known to happen" I told Aveline "Mages are prime targets for demons because we have a stronger connection to the Fade than other people. That makes it easier for them to try to posses us, but if they get the chance they will try to take anyone's body".

The guard-captain shuddered.

"Thankfully its very rare" I assured her "and they can't take people over unless that person consents".

She changed the subject

"Sooner or later I will have to bring him back to the prison" Aveline was now saying "He can't be kept here for long, these cells only serve as temporary detention"

Thankfully my plan accounted for that.

"You need to send for the Templars" I said.

Naturally she was shocked.

"Templars?" she asked "What for, you just said you don't know if he's a mage".

I had my reasons.

"They should be able to detect signs of any demons in him" I told the captain "I've heard of the unpleasant methods they use to find that out. If he is possessed, they will kill him. If not, they won't hand him over to anyone, not when he starts telling them what he's been up to. More importantly his father won't be able to secure his freedom, the Templars work for the Chantry not for the Viscount".

I was certain that they would torture Kelder even if he wasn't a mage, because they would think he was lying. Mostly likely he'd die while being questioned.

"Fine, I'll send for some Templars" Aveline promised "and if anyone asks it was my decision and I'll tell the Knight-Commander all about the dead things my guards found at the ruin. That alone will make them think he'd a Blood Mage".

His death was almost certain if they thought he was a Blood Mage, and even if he's father begged them not to kill his son, and they agreed not to, which was highly unlikely, then Keldar would locked in a cell and never be allowed to leave.

"We already have the gold he promised, but he could ensure that the Hawkes never get back the estate if he finds out I had anything to do with this" I said in concern.

Aveline placed a hand on my shoulder.

"He won't find out" she promised "As far as anyone needs to know you only came here to make sure we had secured the prisoner".

I was very glad to hear that.

"Thank you Aveline" I said "Now if you'll excuse me I need to get going. The others are waiting for me at the Docks. We're going to see the qunari".

Which was not something I was looking forward to.


	9. 9 - The Arishok, Cullen and Idunna

**Mage Gothic**

 **9 - Javaris, Arishok and Cullen**

 **Compound.**

Carver and I met Fenris, Varric and Javaris outside of the compound had been assigned the bull people by the Viscount. It was home to several hundred of the frightening horned folk, and as such it was a place I would rather not enter, but at least I was going in with some decent warriors at my side.

Wisely Carver had chosen not to invite Bethany, Anders and Merril along. I could pass as rogue, but those two couldn't and since the bull people made the Templars seemed kind when it came to dealing with mages, it was best that we not take anyone who looked like a mage into the compound.

"Where's Isabela?" Carver asked once we all together.

I wasn't surprised that she wasn't here. She was after all the reason why the bull people wouldn't leave the city.

"She regrets to inform you that she has pressing business elsewhere and will not be able to join us," Fenris told us "I met her earlier, and she asked me to tell you that. Although I suspect it is a lie".

I spent a moment wondering what those two had been doing together, but then I put out of mind as this wasn't the time to think of such things.

"Shall we go inside and speak with the Arishok" Carver then asked Javaris.

The dwarf nodded.

"Yes, yes let's do that," Javaris replied

Fenris then handed out the sacks of Tal-Vashoth horns, which were proof that the outcasts had been dealt with. I found this very gruesome, and was so glad I hadn't been the one to saw off the horns.

Getting inside the compound was not easy. The guard at the gate didn't want to let us in. Until we mentioned the dead Tal-Vashoth, and how we would like to personally inform Arishok of our deeds.

Then we were led inside the compound, a place much like any other in Lowtown, only cleaner and filled with hostile qunari. If a fight started here we'd be cut down by their superior numbers very quickly.

We stopped in front of a throne of sorts, I examined it at first I though that it was really just large wooden log that had been carved and decoratedm, but once I got a better look I figured it was something they'd recovered from their ship before it had sunk. It look as if it had been part of a sea going vessel.

The Arishok approached the throne and then sat down, not saying a word, only looking at us with what seemed to be mild disinterest.

Fenris stepped forward and spoke a few words in a tongue that I didn't recognise, but I was certain it wasn't Elven. The Arishok looked at Fenris, and barked in laughter.

"The Qun from an elf?" he then said.

Javaris decided that now was a good time for him to start talking.

"Honourable Arishok," Javaris said "I am glad to report that the much hated Tal-Vashoth are all dead".

The Dwarf then turned to Carver.

"They are all dead, right?" he asked.

Rather than reply the warrior tipped his bag and the horns spilled out on the sandy, the rest of us followed his led.

"I am ready to open negotiations about the explosive powder" Javaris went on to say "As we agreed".

The Arishok looked as if he was disgusted, or at least that was what I guessed the expression to be. He wasn't human so I couldn't be sure.

"No," the qunari leader said simply.

At least he wasn't mad, that could led to our deaths.

"Say something" Javarsis demanded "You elf, talk to him".

Fenris did.

"Qunari do not abandon a debt," the elf said politely. "I humbly request clarification from the Arishok".

It was given.

"It is simple. The dwarf imagined a deal for the gaatlok. He invented this task to prove his worth, when he has none" we were told by the bull man in charge "Even now he claims to use your worthiness as his own".

As I'd know this would be a waste of time, well not totally as we had made a decent profit killing the outcast horned people, they hadn't been very good fighters, at least not when facing mages and trained warriors, but they had raided some caverns and as such there had been a lot stolen goods for us to take. We'd taken what was light enough to carry, and worth selling while leaving the rest.

"Then we have wrongly inserted ourselves into your affairs," Fenris said with an apologetic bow "Do you wish us to kill this dwarf?".

We all ignored the dwarfs protests.

"No. If you have faced the Tal-Vashoth, then he is not worthy of dying from your hand" the leader of the bull people "Let him live and leave".

Carver grabbed the dwarf by the shoulder.

"This might be a good time to get out of here with your skin intact," Carver then told Javaris.

The dwarf was not happy.

"But... but he has to sell the powder! It's a product! The people want it!" Javaris protested.

The leader of the bull people did not see things the same way.

"There is no profit in empowering those not of the Qun" the Arishok stated "The gaatlok will be dispensed to our enemies in the traditional manner".

Since it was pretty much gunpowder I could imagine those ways, they weren't pretty.

"You are... a frustrating people!" Javaris stated before he addressed our group "And you're fired! Some help you are, I didn't bring you here to agree with those oxmen and ruin my perfectly fine agreement!"

Calling them oxmen was a stupid idea I was surprised that Javaris was allowed to leave peacefully.

"You will leave as well" the Arishok then said to the rest of us "Know that I have less of a sense of disgust for you".

That sounded odd, but actually it was a sort of praise.

"Oh no" said Carver as we walked out of the compound.

For a second I looked around, thinking that we were under attack, but it didn't look that way.

"I, uh, forgot" Carver went on to say "Javaris hasn't paid us, and now I don't think he'll be willing to".

With pained expression on his face, Varric put his hand on his forehead and sighed.

"He did fire his bodyguards" I pointed out "we could always find him, hold him upside down and shake him to see if he has any money for us".

This idea was approved by all.

(Line Break)

 **Lowtown**

Not long after meeting the Arishok the group had headed to the Hanged Man, as this was where we were due to met the others after our meeting.

"Listen" Bethany said as soon we all sat down "I was just out shopping with Merril and when I passed the Chantry, there was this girl and I talked to her. Now we've got a job to do!"

I was not thrilled to hear this because I was pretty sure it involved Templars, and the last time I'd fought some of those people I'd gone a bit crazy. I suspected that when Justice had made his presence known it had effected Bethany and I most due to our connection to the Fade. As such I didn't want to involve myself with anything that would get Anders upset.

"Will she be able to pay us" Carver asked hopefully "We are badly in need of more coin. We're running out of time".

Indeed. Bartend wasn't going to wait forever.

"Yes, well... about that," Bethany said awkwardly "She didn't look all that rich, I'm afraid".

Then it would be best to stay out of it.

"So you want us to get involved in Templar business for little coin or no coin" Carver replied "I'm going to say no to that. It's too risky".

I had the horrible feeling that this wasn't going to be the end of the matter.

"Uh, sorry brother," Bethany said apologetically. "I kind of already promised we'd help".

Beth had a kind heart, it annoyed me sometimes.

"It might not be so bad" my fiance went on to say.

Isabela also had an opinion to share.

"I'm sure this adventure will involve plenty of people who we can kill, then we can take their stuff and sell it" the pirate said.

While all of our friends had donated to our dream of going down into the Darkspawn infested Deep Roads in order to find treasure, most of our money now came from looting people. Often it was more profitable than the rewards we got from the quest givers.

"I like how this lady thinks," Varric said with a laugh.

Carver then asked his sister to tell us about the job.

"This girl, Macha, is looking for her brother Keran" she told us "he joined the Templar order not long ago. He used to write her every week, but now she'S not received any notes from him in over a month".

Carver nodded.

"I can see why that would be worrying," he said.

As did the others.

"She went over to the Gallows to ask for about brother, but Knight-Commander Meredith had her thrown out," Bethany continued. "She didn't have much good to say about the templar commander. Terribly fierce woman, utterly without pity and she sees demons everywhere. Macha also mentioned there are a lot of dark rumours circulating about her and the Order in general".

That really got people's attention.

"What kind of rumours?" Isabela asked while idly shuffling the pack of cards "Naughty ones?".

Bethany smiled.

"Oh you know, stuff about the excessive cruelty of the templars" she said "Turning mages into tranquil for the slightest of offences. Cracking down on those who would aid escaped mages and harbour apostates..."

Nothing we hadn't heard before.

"Do you hear that Isabela?" Varric chuckled. "We might be in danger for consorting with these dangerous criminals!"

Given that we had four apostates in our group, I figured the Templars really weren't doing a very good job. No wonder the Knight-Commander was pissed off all the time.

"Did she say anything else?" Carver asked.

He was getting very good at keeping things on track I noted.

"She just gave me the names of Keran's closest friends in the Gallows," Bethany informed the group. "If anyone knows more about her brother's fate, it would be the recruits Wilmod and Hugh."

Carver sighed.

"I guess we should talk to Aveline" he said "If this is a missing person's case she should know something about it, and the Templars might actually talk to her".

Without any further talk we all got up and followed him out of the door.

(Line Break)

 **Outside Kirkwall**

We had been fortunate to find Aveline at a time when she wasn't so busy. In fact, Aveline was rather interested in the whole affair, people disappearing, whether they were Templars or not, was something that was also a concern of the guard. Of course, the Templars would never report the disappearance of their own people to the guard, but that didn't mean Aveline would dismiss the stories just because they weren't reported officially.

Good luck was also had at the Gallows. We'd not had to ask around for Wilmod or Hugh because we'd found a few junior templars quietly conversing outside of the main building.

Aveline had then explained that we were investigating Keran's disappearance as a favour to the guard, and they seemed to believe that.

It turned out the Knight-Captain, who was just below the Knight-Commander in rank, had given strict orders not to discuss this matter with anyone. So it took a lot of persuasion, but in the end one of Hugh's fellow recruits disclosed that by now at least half a dozen recruits had gone missing, Keran and his friend Wilmod were just the latest to disappear.

The recruits had then quietly discussed their ideas for the reasons of these disappearances, they had wild theories involving new deadly initiation rituals. They thought that Knight-Commander Meredith was working to ensure that only those most ruthless and dedicated of the would-be templars make it into the full ranks of the Order.

As they had talked, a young female recruit, perhaps having overheard someone mention Wilmod, had told us and that she had seen the man earlier this morning, but he had spontaneously left the Gallows to head outside the city in order to 'clear his head'.

She had also told us that the Knight-Captain had ordered the other recruits to stay here while he chased after Wilmod. Intending to bring the young man back for questioning.

Since they couldn't leave the Gallows without defying their superiors, Hugh and the others had then asked Aveline to check up on the Knight-Captain and Wilmod, to make sure they both made it safely back to the Gallows.

That had led to us finding a lone templar who was heavily outnumbered by an abominations and some demons that had some how manifested in this reality

Aveline, Carver and Fenris jumped into the fray immediately, followed by Varric and Isabela. Meanwhile us mages hung back so as not to expose ourselves as magic users.

Sadly even more demons started to appear, which meant this had to been a trap set for Cullen because demons didn't just appear.

"He can't throw us in the Gallows after we save his life," Bethany said before unleashing magic.

Merril, who always followed Bethany around, much like a loyal puppy, mimicked this action. I just used my guns to shoot a couple of the demons.

It did not take long for the demonic attackers to be defeated once our group had gone into battle. As for the surviving templar, he had fallen on one knee and was breathing heavily. He was a young man, but right now he looked old.

"Are you Wilmod?" Carver asked.

To our surprise the templar bolted from the ground and faced us with his sword at the ready

"Who are you?" he demanded to know "Are you working with Wilmod".

Carver backed off immediately, and Aveline quick moved to draw the Templar's attention

"If we were then we wouldn't be asking if you were Wilmod would we" the guard captain pointed out.

The templar kept his blade ready to strike

"I am Knight-Captain Cullen," the templar said. "And you have apostates in your group. Still you aided me in time of need. For that at least I will allow you to explain yourselves, before deciding what to do next".

I moved away and started to reload my guns, which wasn't easy to do without being able to put the pistols down on a flat surface. However if this templar tried to take Bethany or Merril into custody then I would shoot him in the head, twice.

"We were hired by the sister of one of your recruits, a man called Keran," Carver explained "The other recruits at the Gallows mentioned that Wilmod was good friends with Keran. When we heard that Wilmod had run off earlier, we gave chase. We wanted to find out if he knew anything about the others going missing".

Cullen now looked annoyed as well as weary.

"It appears as some of the recruits at the Gallows have trouble understanding the concept of keeping their mouths shut" Cullen muttered "There will be some reinforcing of discipline, later".

He was foolish to assume he was going to live that long, he might not.

"As for Wilmod," he said while stepping closer to one of the dead abominations. "Allow me to introduce you. This one... used to be Wilmod".

I was the only one not surprised. So far things seemed to be going as in the game. I'd not tried to change things as I liked knowing that would happen, but I knew that as more time passed things would change. They would have to otherwise Beth would end up in the Circle.

"He was possessed?" Carver asked.

People always thought that this sort of thing only ever happened to mages, but in truth anyone could be possessed. It was just most likely to happen to mages.

"It appears so. I had the feeling he was involved in something sinister," Cullen said unhappily "But this. Is it even possible?"

Clearly it was, the evidence was right there. Although since Blood Mages were behind this I didn't think any mage should use this as proof that anyone could be possessed.

"It happened to a man named Kelder" Aveline said "I called the templars to retrieve him from the Keep's cells, so that he could be helped, if that is even possible".

That man's inner demons had nothing to do with the Fade, although it was possible that real demons had been involved. This was Kirkwall after all.

"I am aware of the case you refer to," Cullen told us "But I am not at liberty to discuss it. Yet I am deeply disturbed that one of our own could be so... susceptible. It is true that Wilmod's convictions and dedication to templar beliefs was... questionable, and we suspected him of having some friends amongst the mages that had fled the Circle, but this..."

Carver felt the need to speak.

"You know, there is a big difference between being sympathetic to mages and opening yourself up to a demon" he said before getting back to the matter at hand "Did you learn anything from this Wilmod before he turned on you?".

Cullen shook his head.

"I'm afraid not. I have been investigating the disappearances for a while now. Wilmod was the first to return, but the explanations for his absence and subsequent behaviour seemed very odd," Cullen told us "I was hoping for a chance to interrogate him quietly and out of sight of the others. When I heard that he had left after only a few days of staying in the Gallows, I dropped all my other tasks and hurried after him. Unfortunately, I had to resort to violence in order to get answers from him, and you saw the result of that".

I could see Carver's expression become a puzzled one.

"If he was a demon then why would he return the templars" he wondered "that seems foolish. He could have simply fled the city".

It was confusing.

"Perhaps he was sizing up potential victims amongst the new recruits?" Avliene mused before addressing Cullen "Knight-Captain, if I were you, I would watch those that Wilmod has had any contact with after his reappearance. If a demon could get into one of them then it could happen again".

The Templar nodded.

"That is a good suggestion" Cullen said.

This guy didn't seem so bad. Hopefully I wouldn't have to shoot him in cold blood because I wasn't sure I could even with Bethany's freedom at stake. I'd never murdered anyone before. I'd killed, but in battle. That wasn't the same thing as murdering someone.

"Does that mean all our leads are closed off now?" Carver asked.

The Knight-Captain took a moment before answering.

"There might be something worth investigating" he said "But I have not yet decided what to do with you. The law is clear. Mages belong with the Circle, in the Gallows. However you did save my life, but the Order dictates that we cannot turn a blind eye because of mercy or sympathy".

I resisted the urge to at least aim my pistols at the man. If I did then a fight would start.

"They could be of great help if you would allow them to remain free," Carver said firmly.

I figured that he also didn't not want to kill Cullen in order to keep his sister safe and free, but he would.

"We could solve this mystery for you" Bethany's brother went on to say "and perhaps prevent this from happening again".

I could see that the Knight-Captain was considering this.

"Please, Ser Knight-Captain," Bethany begged. "We are not dangerous. We only want to help".

Hopefully this would work out.

"I would vouch for them too, as Captain of the Kirkwall Guard," Aveline said. "They have helped the guard on many occasions, and I can say there are very few non-mages to whom I would place as much trust as I place in the hands of these two young women".

Smartly none even looked at me, this was wise as while I didn't look like a mage, if everyone seemed concerned about me it might tip the guy off.

"Strong words, Guard-Captain," Cullen said. "and I have heard of you, Aveline Vallen. You have restored much respect to the guard in a very short of time. I will not dismiss your opinion lightly".

He stood silent for a while, no doubt thinking.

"I am taking a great risk with this" he said "Should you fail me, the wrath of the templars will be terrible".

It was also be terrible for them if Bethany was dragged away or Merril. I figured if that happened I'd go to Anders and help him liberate mages, and unlike him I actually had ideas on how to do which didn't involve blowing up parts of the city and starting wars.

"We will not fail you, we promise," Bethany said.

While I couldn't see her face, as I was hanging back, I figured that Beth was using her own puppy dog eyes on Cullen. Merril could do it without trying so if both of them unleashed the sad eyes even a Templar Knight-Commander would struggle to resist.

"Very well," the Knight-Captain said. "There is something you should check for me. Keran was last seen with Wilmod at the Blooming Rose".

Which was where that mind controlling blood mage worked if I remembered correctly.

"The brothel," Isabela said with laugh "No wonder you came all the way out here".

I didn't see the connection, but I didn't have to as it was explained.

"Yes, I did not have much luck interrogating the young ladies at that place," Cullen admitted. "You should search the brothel and see if you can come up with something. Nobody spoke to me out of fear that I would shut them down for serving templar recruits".

They were suppose to be holy warriors so it wasn't right that they got to visit the whore house while the mages weren't even allowed to go the local pub.

"Find out the truth about these disappearances, and I will do what I can to keep you out of the Circle" Cullen offered "Fail me, and the templars will be knocking on your door very soon".

Thankfully I knew what was going on so we would be able to find out more.

"Understood. And maybe we can show you that mages and templars don't always need to be enemies," Bethany replied.

Sadly we would always be enemies and one day we'd have a war. I wondered if I'd be involved or not.

"Do not hold out false hope, we will never be friends," Cullen said harshly as he turned around to leave. "I have seen for my very own eyes where such leniency leads".

I knew that he was talking about the Felderan Circle and the horrors which had nearly destroyed that place. When reminded of such things it didn't seem so unreasonable for mages to be locked up.

(Line Break)

 **The Blooming Rose.**

"You know these kind of places are illegal were I am from" I said as we entered the whore house .

For reasons he'd not told anyone Carver had asked me to go to the brothel in his palce. I suspected this was because he'd visited the place before and didn't want to recognised if he entered the brothel with us. As for Merril, it was best to keep her away from this place. Aveline as guard captain had been here on official business before and the whores were unlikely to answer question if the law was with us as such she hadn't tagged along either. Fenris had refused to come along, but that might have something do with him simply not wanting to work with a mage.

"If they try to hire me again I'm leaving" I heard Anders mutter.

I could see why they'd want. Anders was handsome, even I had noticed that, and I wasn't the only one who had.

"Well you can't blame them Anders," Isabela said lightheartedly, "for wanting someone as handsome and sexy as you working here."

Anders chuckled lightly as we walked over to the woman who looked like she helped keep things organised. Bethany nudged me and gestured to her Uncle Gamlen who standing at the brothel's bar.

"Welcome to The Blooming Rose" the woman said in a way that told me she had spoke those words in that order a hundred or so times before "My name's Viveka. Would you like to see the men or the women?"

I answered right away.

"Neither. I'm actually here because of two missing templar recruits" I told Viveka "Their names are Keran and Wilmod. Do you know anything about them?"

The woman shook her head.

"I'm sorry, but we don't give information like that to every nobody that comes in here and asks for it" I was told.

This was to be expected.

"The templars are the ones that want this information" I said in a softer voice "It would be in your best interest to help them".

The woman shook her head again.

"We get a lot of money off of nervous templars that expect some privacy," Viveka said

I knew what to say.

"Look either you tell me, and I find out what I need to know with as little fuss as possible" I said "or I can report back to the templars. Then they will come here in force and take the place apart".

That worked.

"Let me go look in the books" was the reply.

She walked over to the counter of the bar and flipped back a few pages in the book that was sitting there. She quickly skimmed down the page with her finger and turned back around to face us.

"Wilmod came here a lot. You sure he had time to be a templar?" she asked.

I didn't give her an answer

"Both of them last saw 'Idunna the Exotic Wonder of the East'" Viveka told me.

I got the sense that she didn't like Idunna, and since she was helping to put demons in people I didn't like her either.

"Listen," Viveka said softly, "you didn't get any of this from me. We clear?"

I nodded my head then and walked away.

(Line Break)

 **The Blooming Rose**

"You must be the 'Exotic Wonder of the East'" I said as we turned into the room that contained a somewhat beautiful woman. "Do you remember 'entertaining' a templar recruit by the name of Wilmod or Keran?"

Of course she didn't just admit it.

"Wilmod...Wilmod...that name doesn't sound familiar to me," Idunna said.

Her charms didn't work on me, the same didn't hold true for my friends.

"Gothic, go easy on this...lovely creature," Varric said.

I looked back at them, and saw that they were all staring intently at Idunna. Their eyes looked glazed over and they all seemed to be very interested in what she had to offer. Even Anders, which was damn strange since he had a spirit inside him, it shouldn't have been effected.

"You should listen to your friend" the whore urged.

I took out my gun and pointed at her. Despite not being very common, she knew what it was as they were sometimes carried by rich nobles, some of which might have been clients of hers.

"I suggest that you think a little harder about the names Wilmod and Keran" I said.

Shooting her now was tempting, but I needed her to confess to her crimes.

"First answer my question," Idunna requested "who told you about little old me?"

I didn't intend to answer.

"Viveka...Viveka told me." I stammered

It had just spilled out, I'd lost control. Even prepared I'd fallen under her spell. I'd gone in cocky, thinking that I could deal with the bitch and now she was screwing with my head.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it?" the whore said "So, Viveka sold me out. That drab, pathetic little sewer rat. She will be dealt with".

I struggled to pull the trigger of my pistol.

Just do one more thing for me," Idunna ordered "Draw your...".

I shot her in the leg. It hadn't taken much effort to resist as my urge to survive had kicked in and saved me.

"How did you...?" Idunna said

She backed away from us and once she reached the wall, which wasn't too far behind her, she fell to her knees. The blood was already staining her lovely dressed, and that bothered for a moment, but I brushed it off.

"Ugh...it feels like I have the worst hangover ever," Anders said rubbing his forehead "I really hate blood mages"

He wasn't the only one to react.

"That bitch!" said Isabela.

I let out an exasperated sigh as the blood mage passed out. She was still alive I could see her breathing.

"Gag her" I ordered "Bethany heal her and then everyone tie her up. We need to hand her over to the Templars or Cullen will drag Bethany and Merril off the Circle".

This bitch was one of those few mages who should be locked up with the Templars to guard her.

"And a written confession in her diary" Varric informed us as he waved a book in the air "I bet this has all her nasty plans and the names of other blood mages. We give this Cullen and he can shut them down".

I turned to Anders and to my surprise he didn't protest. In fact he looked supportive.

"If they are putting demons into innocent people then they have to be stopped" he said "Abominations are a danger to everyone".

That sounded good to me, and while Bethany had promised to find some woman's brother I saw no reason to risk our lives fighting blood mages when there were templars around.

"I hope Keran is okay" Beth said.

Since I didn't care there was no sense in me replying to her.


	10. 10 - Saemus, and the Viscount

**Mage Gothic**

 **10 - Saemus, and the Viscount**

 **The Wounded Coast.**

"Oh Andraste, I've never seen so much death!" the Viscount's son moaned.

Saemus appeared rather ill.

"So much blood!" he called out.

I was thinking along the same lines, but by now I'd been desensitised to this sort of thing, so it didn't bother me nearly as much as it did the Viscount's son.

"Pull it together, Saemus," Carver ordered "there's more of them out there, we need to keep moving."

We had just been attacked by the latest wave of Winters, a mercenary group out of Nevarra. They, like us were after Saemus so they could bring him back to the Viscount for the reward for his return. Unlike us they didn't care how willing Saemus was to get back to Kirkwall, nor did they care about how many people they had to kill in order to get the bounty.

"Hawke!" Fenris yelled. "There's more coming!"

Carver growled and lift his sword into the air.

"What are we doing, brother?" Bethany asked "Should we keep running?"

We had been running down the road back to the city for some time now, but we kept having to stop in order to fight off any Winters that had caught up to us. No one sure where they were coming from, or how many of them there were, and by the looks of things there even more ahead.

When I turned back to see if we were being followed I saw even more of the fuckers coming up the road after us. It looked hopeless. I'd already fired my pistols and I had no time to reload so all I had was my sword, and I wasn't very good with that. I'd wished I was better with magic, but I'd only ever been tutored on the subject by Bethany, and them later by Anders, and he was more a healer than a fighter.

It all looked lost, then I saw Merrill's eyes which had turned red. A red aura floated around her outstretched hands, it was if she was struggling to push them outward.

That was when the enemy warriors around us screamed. I watched, in a mixture of horror and wonder as Merrill used her powers to destroy the people who'd been trying to kill us. Then the redness around Merrill's hands and in her eyes faded, and she fell to her knees, looking exhausted.

"Merrill!" Anders yelled as he and Bethany ran over to her "What did you do?".

It had been blood magic, we all knew that, but it had saved us so I hard time seeing it as evil.

"I don't like it," the elf said while covering her face. "I hate it. Using blood magic like that... it's wrong."

While I agreed with her, I also knew the reason why Merrill had done it: to save the people she cared about.

"It'll be all right, Merrill" Bethany assured the elf "You did what you had to".

Anders loathed Blood Magic, but under these conditions it was hard to be angry about it. Even Fenris wasn't that mad, although he was certainly not happy.

"I know, but..." Daisy said.

Merrill then stood and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"That's not the reason why I chose to learn blood magic" she informed us "I told myself I would never use it unless it was to help my people. You're all just as important, but I've never killed anyone using it".

What worried me now was that this might be how the corruption of mages started. I doubted anyone just woke up one morning and decided to be an evil magic user, they always had a reason for using blood magic and once they got a taste of that power they found other reasons to justify using it.

"Alright, I think that's all of them," said Carver, who seemed to have decided to ignore the fact that blood magic had been used "If there are more, then they will be waiting for us inside the city".

Now that he'd spoken I realised that he might be on to something. The rest of the Winters could be inside the city, waiting to ambush anyone who tried to claim the reward. If this was the case then we were going to have to be very careful in how we got Saemus back to the Keep.

(Line Break)

 **Lowtown.**

Rather than go directly to the Keep we'd gone to the home that Bethany, Merril and I shared as Daisy needed to rest.. Since it was now night it seemed extra wise to lay low until morning and then send for Aveline who could get us a guard escort. It seemed the smartest course of action.

Varric had soon left the house, as for Carver had gone the home he shared with his mother and Uncle. Fenris had also gone home, which was good because I really didn't want him around any mages right now. Anders had gone back to the clinic, but I wasn't worried about him, at least not anymore than I normally was.

As for Isabela she had stuck around, she like Bethany was worried about Merril but in the sense of being worried for her health and well-being, not because she was killing people with forbidden magic.

Perhaps it would have been wiser to have more people guarding Saemus, but it could also could have drawn attention. Not that I was too worried as the people around kept to themselves. Also I doubted any of them would know who Saemus was just by looking at him, right now he didn't look like the son of an important noble. He was dirty from the road and his clothes were torn.

"I thank you for saving me the" Viscount's son said "I don't know what would have happened if those brutes had tried taking me to my father".

Isabela had ideas.

"Bad things, of course" she said.

That was when the Viscounts son noticed the magix mirror.

"What's that?" he asked.

It was a mirror, or at least it seemed to be one. The glass was cracked in a few places making spider web like patterns all over the surface. What was more interesting was that the mirror didn't reflect anything.

"You know I've always wandered the same" Isabela said before turning to the elf "Merrill?"

I wondered how the Dalish mage would handle losing the mirror when I arranged for it to go missing.

"It's nothing," Merrill said as she quickly went over and shut the door to her room. "Just an old mirror. Now let's all go to bed, then in the morning we'll go to the Keep".

Everyone was tired, so no one argued with that.

(Line Break)

 **The Keep**

"I wasn't kidnapped," Saemus explained as we took him to his father's office "I... ran away. I can't stand how he treats me. He may be my father, but he is viscount first. Our ideals always seem to clash, and what he wants me to become, is not what I want to be".

He was a typical teenager in my view.

"So the Qunari you were with" Carver asked "Who was he?"

He answered without delay.

"Ashaad. He was a scout, sent by his Arishok to map the coast" Saemus told us "Ashaad never lied, never coddled. You were worth his time, or you were not. They are not the brutes others claim them to be".

Bethany was next to speak.

"So have you been spending time with this Ashaad?" she asked.

Again Saemus didn't hold back on information.

"I met him soon after their ship crashed" he told us "I had run away, again, to escape the keep and my father. Ashaad was working to map the coast to 'find and answer for the Arishok.' I had so many doubts. the Qunari have none".

My thinking was that at least a few of them did, but would never dare to express these doubts for fear of punishment.

"You were his friend?" Carver enquired "I didn't think Qunari could have friends".

Seamus shook his head.

"Perhaps 'friend' isn't the right word" he tried to make us understand "I am the viscount's son, bound by everything that means. Ashaad did not care. We were both seeking something. That was enough".

Saemus then took the lead, and led us right to the viscount's office. As we made our way the guards took up posts around the building and this allowed me to see the nobles, who were standing around gossiping. I didn't doubt that they taking careful note Saemus's return and those who were accompaning him home.

"Bran, I'm hear to see my father" Seames said when we ran into the Seneschal.

Bran nodded.

"Yes, of course" he replied "Your father will be very eager to see you. Come with me."

Bran took us to a set of large doors, opening them to reveal a sitting room beyond. On the other side was another set of large doors that were already open. Inside was the viscount's office, and Viscount Dumar was sitting at his desk. He was an elderly man with a bald head and white stubble upon his chin. The crown of Kirkwall was placed about his head, which I found odd as the Viscount was elected, there was no public vote, it was decided by the nobles who held the office, but it was still somewhat democratic so the head piece seemed out of place.

"Father" Saemus said once he had entered the office.

Viscount Dumar looked up from the paperwork on his desk, and gasped when he saw his child.

"My son! I thought I'd lost you" the man said happily.

He stood and went around the desk to greet Saemus and to hug him. Saemus placed his arms around his father but he gave little affection in return.

"Yes, Father, I am back" he stated "I may not be alive if it wasn't for the Hawke family.

It was only Carver, Bethany and I in this office, the others had waited outside. I wasn't actually a Hawke, but I used the name since I'd been more or less adopted into the family.

"Greetings, your Excellency" I said with a short bow.

The Viscount was pleased to meet us.

"You have my gratitude" he said "and I hope you encountered no great difficulties on my son's behalf".

I felt someone nudge me so I spoke for the group.

"A group known as the Winters did forcibly try to take your son" I told the leader of the city "We dealt with most of them, but there could be more members of the group somewhere in the city".

The Viscount looked horrified. He turned to his son, then to the seneschal.

"They did as about the reward for returning Saemus from his kidnapper" Bran explained "but so did many others I had no reason to think they would harm your son".

I wondered if that was true. If Saemus's actions made the Viscount look weak and wouldn't past one of his supporters to try to get rid of the young man.

"I'll inform the guards that the Winters are no longer welcome in the city" Bran the said "Should they return they'll be arrested".

The viscount was still not pleased

"I've heard of their ways, and am glad you were able to keep them from hurting my son" he said to us.

If given the chance I would have replied, however the Viscount's son spoke before I could.

"They killed my friend" said Saemus. "Does that mean anything to you?"

It seemed like an odd question given that his father hadn't even mentioned the Qurari and neither had anyone else, it was as if Saemus just wanted to start an argument, which given that he was teenager, this could be the case.

"Your friend?" Dumar said, surprised "Are you talking about that Qunari who took you?".

I figured that soon it would be time to leave.

"He did not take me. I went with him because I wished to" his son replied "Ashaad had no intention of taking me by anywhere by force".

Now the Viscount was angry rather than concerned.

"So you were foolishly traipsing about the coast," Dumar said with a frown "I should have known"

Saemus scowled.

"Yes, you should have, then Ashaad might still be alive" he chided "They are not monsters to be feared. If you would just try to understand, others would see as well".

I coughed but not one paid me any attention.

"Better that you were thought abducted than to have their influence suspected in my own family... benign or not" the viscount said.

I coughed again, still it had no effect.

"And what would be wrong with that?" asked Saemus. "The Qunari have ideas that may be aid Kirkwall".

I didn't try to get their attention for a third time.

"Saemus, not here, not now" pleaded the older man.

This was typical father versus son, each with a different perceptive on the issues going on in the city. The Qunari being here was a big deal, as many people didn't like them having a presence here.

The Viscount was only trying to keep the peace, but with his son travelling with them and maybe even being influenced by the Qunari, it made it look as the leader of this city favoured the Qunari, which would upset many important people. It was no wonder rescuing Saemus was kept quiet.

"Excuse me" I said loudly enough that no one could ignore me "I think this is a private matter that my friends and I have no part in. If we could just get our reward, then we will get out of your way".

That had been polite enough not to be offenceive, and Bran figured that this was a good time led us out of the room. Once he had he handed us a money purse

"Here" he said "Now please leave. Your services are no longer needed".

I took the bag of coins and headed out to the main entrance of the keep. Only to suddenly be called back.

"Oh I almost forgot" Bran said "I was going to send this to your mother, but since she added your names to the document I can give it you".

I opened up the official looking scroll.

 _'Your petition to reclaim the Amell estate has been approved'_ I read.

I had to wait for Bethany to calm down before reading more.

 _'The ownership of the estate will be returned to you upon successful registration of'_

There was some legal stuff that made little sense to me. I'd have to run it by Varric, who knew about this stuff.

 _'As of now, the fee is calculated to be...'_

I was very surprised.

"Its less than the reward we just got given" I told the twins "and its not just the house, there's a few farms and ranches too, we'll get rent from them as the Amell family owns the land. There's some back taxes too, but those can paid over time according to this".

Which meant we would still have to go down to the Deep Roads or we'd up in debt and lose the house, or at least the land.

"Gamlen's sale of the house wasn't legal so its been rendered void by the Viscount's order" I went on say "and since it was the slavers, who are now dead, who brought the house they can't try to block this".

I read some more.

"We'll have to get Varric to double check this, and go see the moneylender too" I was now saying "but if I'm reading this right, once we pay the tax and file the paperwork the Hawke family will have the Amell lands and therefore be nobles".

This was wonderful news.

"What are we doing now?" Bethany asked, sounding giddy.

Carver laughed.

"I'd say we're done for the day" remarked the warrior "You two can go do whatever you want. As for me, I'm heading to the Hanged Man. I want a drink".

As did I.

(Line Break)

 **Lowtown**

Using the reward money we'd paid off the fees, and we had also filled out the paper work. Now the Hawke family was in debt, but the estate was theirs and if the Deep Roads trip went well the debts could be paid off. If things went well they'd still have enough money left over that none of them would need to work another day.

The Hawke's were now nobles, and when I married Bethany, assuming we got to that point, I'd also be a noble since I would legally be able to take the Hawke name. Normally the wife took the husband's surname but there was rule saying it couldn't be the other way around.

"So you raised the money and got the house" said the pirate.

Isabela smirked as she gestured for the barkeep.

"Then we need to do something fun tonight" she stated.

I had a feeling that I knew where this was going.

"Like what?" Bethany asked.

"I promised Kitten I'd teach her a few things" Isabela told us Can't think of a better time than right now."

Isabela gestured to the barkeep again.

"We need a bottle of Tevinter spirit, a few shot glasses, and as many lime wedges as you can give us" she ordered.

Once she collected what she needed, Isabela took us over to where Merrill was sitting

"Right, Kitten, you ready to learn how to do body shots?" she asked.

I'd so guessed it right.

"Ooh, is that what we're going to do?" Merrill asked excited.

"Yes. Tonight's going to be a fun night" the pirate promised "Plus after my own failure, a little bit of fun is needed."

I also knew what she meant by that.

"Failed to find the relic again?" I asked.

Isabela had no idea how I knew about the relic, and it was driving her crazy.

"If you really must know, then yes" she told me "The lead I thought was good, well... it wasn't. Don't worry, Gothic, even if it was a good lead, I wasn't going to go after it without you lot".

She'd need the help.

"Glad to hear it" I said.

Focus was then returned to the drinking.

"Kitten, are you ready?" Isabela asked Merrill.

She wasn't, but he was putting on a brave face.

"Yeah, I think" Merril lied "Could I see you do it, first?"

Isabela looked happy to do so, she opened the brand new bottle of what passed for vodka in this world. Then she poured a little of it into a shot glass and tucked it right into her cleavage. She then took some salt and rubbed it on her neck, making a trail down to the shot glass. Last of all, she took a lime wedge and held it between her fingers.

"Now listen, Kitten, you too Bethany" she instructed "this is the order you need to go. Salt. Shot. Lime. Got it?"

I already knew what to do. I'd done it before, once a long time ago, but it was an experience you didn't forget. Not if the girl was super hot like Isabela.

"Yeah, I think I do," Merrill said as she stared at the shot glass between Isabela's breasts.

I wondered if Daisy was bi. I was sure she wasn't gay because Bethany had told me that Merril had peeked on me while I changed.

"I'm not sure I want to do this," said Bethany.

"It's okay, Bethie," the pirate assured "You'll have fun."

Beth nudged me.

"You go first" she said.

I was midly shocked to hear that.

"You're actually going to let me do this?" I asked.

Bethany smiled.

"Sure" she said "you deserve it".

I figured she was right, we all had worked hard these last few weeks.

"Gothic" Isabela cooed "I'm waiting."

I noticed then that I was starting to gather attention, especially from some of the male patrons.

"You know my boobs aren't big" stated Merril.

Isabela laughed.

"No need to worry about that" she replied "There are other ways to play this game.

It could also been done by resting the shot glass on a flat stomach, or by pouring into the belly button. But the breast way was more fun.

"I'm sure you know all the ways" I said to the raider.

Then I lowered my head down to Isabela's neck, licked the salt off her neck by following the salt trail down across her collar and down to just above her breasts before I came to the shot glass. Taking it in my mouth, I gripped it with my teeth and lifted it out of Isabela's cleavage. Then I tipped my head back and drank down the booze.

Next I put the glass down looked for the lime wedge. It was no longer placed between Isabela's fingers, but instead laid provocatively between her teeth.

So I took the lime between her own teeth, moving close so our lips connected. Isabela opened her mouth to allow me to take the lime.

Then I sucked on the lime. When all the juices were gone, I threw the peel on the table and noticed that we now had the whole tavern's attention, including Varric and Fenris who had been playing cards. The whole pub had gone quiet. I was so glad that Carver had gone out with Gamlen, to the Blooming Rose, as he'd be upset to see me doing this even if Bethany didn't mind.

"Looks like we've got ourselves an audience." Isabela said as she looked around. "Kitten, are you ready for your turn? What would you like to be? The licker? Or the lickee?"

I was wondering if we could charge for this show, we could always use a few more coins.

"Who would I be doing it with?" Merrill asked. "You or Bethany, do only girls get licked?"

So many people laughed at that.

"Bethany" Isabela said "Come on"

Beth's cheeks suddenly grew red.

"Lie down and pull up your shirt, Bethany" the pirate instructed "I have another way I want Merrill to try."

"Alright, I guess..." Bethany muttered.

I was enjoying this far to much to hide.

"You're going to get it when we get home," Bethany promised as she laid on the table and pulled up her shirt to expose her stomach "You just wait".

I chuckled.

"We'll see I" I said.

Isabela made her way over to Bethany and handed her a lime wedge.

"Do whatever you want with it, just make sure it stays somewhere on your body" the raider instructed

Taking the bottle, Isabela carefully poured a small shot into Bethany's bellybutton. She then took some more salt and rubbed it around my girlfriend's bellybutton, careful not to spill the liquid.

"Do you remember the order?" Isabela asked Merrill.

It was strange to think that just yesterday this elf, who was so seeminly innocent, had been killing people with blood magic.

"Salt. Shot. Lime. Right?" replied Merrill.

She sounded more certain than her words had suggested.

"That's right sweetness" the raider said.

Isabela moved out of the way so Merrill could have full access to Bethany's belly. Merrill looked down at Beth before saying anything.

"This is strange, isn't it?" she commented.

I spent a moment wondering how this practice had come about on both my world and this one, but I was too distracted to think about that for long.

"Very, so just get it over with" Bethany whispered.

The blood mage lowered her head and began licking the salt off Bethany's skin, going around her bellybutton. Once all the salt was gone, the elf placed her lips next to Beth's bellybutton and she sucked the liquid slowly into her mouth. She shot up once all the drink was gone, and her eyes began to water.

"The lime, Kitten. Quick!" Isabela encouraged.

She looked for the lime to see it between Bethany's teeth. Quickly she went and grabbed it with her own, not really touching Bethany's lips but getting pretty close. With the lime in her mouth, she sucked on the juices, only to split the wedge out and gag.

"Oh that made it taste even worse!" Merril complained.

There was another round of laughter.

"It's not suppose to" Isabela said "It's just part of the fun!"

That was apparently lost on the elf.

"Uh, that was horrible," Merrill said as she sat down, holding her stomach. "I don't feel very good right now".

"You'll be fine, Kitten," Isabela said as she squeezed her shoulder. "You did good. A few more times and you'll be used to it".

That I'd like to see, and I wasn't the only one.

"Holy Maker..." said one of the men at the bar. "Please do that again."

Now I was less happy about this. I didn't really like the idea of other men looking at Bethany that way.

"Don't worry, boys," Isabela said to all the men staring at them. "The shows not over with yet. We still have a whole bottle to finish".

Merril look a little ill.

"Virgins are so cute, aren't they?" Isabela joked.

I didn't think Merril was actually a virgin, at least not the sense that she'd never had sex as talked to Bethany on the subject and seemed to know about it. But she was naive about a lot of things.

"Are you sure we should corrupt her?" I asked. "Maybe we should wait until she's a little older".

That was when I realised that I had no idea how old Merril actually was. She was an elf so it was hard to tell her age.

"Come on they're old enough" the pirate said "Besides, how old were you when it was your first time?"

I didn't answer, so Isabela turned her attention to someone else.

Now, Bethany, I believe it's your turn!" the pirate declared "Come drink from my bosom".

This was going to be so hot.


	11. 11 - Thrask, Grace and Bartrand

**Mage Gothic**

 **11- Thrask, Decimus and Bartrand.**

 **Outside Kirkwall**

While Aveline was busy there was nothing stopping the rest of us from going to the place indicated in the anonymous letter that been sent to Carver. Well common sense could have, but so few people had that.

Sometimes I wondered if the group might be better off with me as the leader, since I knew so much of what was going to happen over the next decade or so, but I didn't really want the responsibility. Plus I was worried that I might end up making things worse.

Besides the only thing I wanted to change was was Bethany ending up in the Circle. Yet there wasn't really anything I could do about that which wasn't already being done. We needed allies, coin and a fancy title to shield us from the Templars. Carver was getting us those things so she was doing a good job at being the leader.

My trail of thought came to an end when I saw a man, who standing behind a formation of rocks while watching the entrance of a cave. I then saw Bethany jerk back instinctively as she recognised the man's armour. He was a Templar. Also when we got a little closer I saw another Templar, Knight-Captain Cullen

"Easy, Beth," Carver said reassuringly "I had a feeling that note came from Ser Cullen".

By now both of the templars had noticed our approach, and even from this distance I could see how worried they were.

"Carver Hawke" Cullen greeted "I hoped you would come. You and your friends, have shown kindness to desperate mages. I am hoping you would extend a helping hand to mages one more time".

Thankfully no one in the group felt this was a good time to express their views on helping mages. Such things were best left for when we were at the Hanged Man.

"We'll help if we can" our leader replied.

Personally I thought we should stay out of this, but offending the Knight-Captain by ignoring his letters wasn't going to help keep Beth out of the Circle.

"Perhaps you have heard of the tragedy that befell Starkhaven and its Circle?" Thrask asked.

Actually I hadn't, and I wasn't the only one.

"It burned to the ground and their templars sent for us to relocate their survivors" the red haired Templar told us.

The Knight-Captain spoke next.

"Unfortunately a few escaped during the journey and with their phylacteries destroyed, it has been nearly impossible to track them down" Cullen said.

This time not everyone could keep their mouths shut.

"'Unfortunate' according to whom?" Anders muttered

Carver spoke in order to divert attention from the mage

"What is it that you wish us to do, Ser Cullen?" he asked.

He would have answered if not for my fellow mage.

"We will not hunt apostates for you" Anders stated.

Again the Grey Warden didn't know when to keep his stupid mouth shut. He should have known better than to think that Carver would do something like that.

"Stop speaking for us all" Fenris snapped.

Bethany, ever the peace maker tried to shut them up.

"Hush you two" she said "let's get the whole story before we decide what to do".

The templars took this a chance to get things back on track.

"I intercepted a message sent to Ser Karras, a Knight-Lieutenant of the Templar" Thrask explained "He is one of the most ruthless in the Order, perhaps with the exception of Ser Alrik".

If I remembered correctly Alrik was the one who would come with the Tranquil Solution, the title alone made me think of times back on my world when other minorities had been nearly wiped out by horrible people.

"Should he find apostates hiding from pursuit, Meredith will consider him justified in murdering the lot of them" Cullen explained "He tends to look upon apostates who have spent too long without supervision as irreversibly contaminated".

Again I was getting a Nazis vibe. I didn't like.

"Couldn't you just order him not to harm them?" Carver wondered "You are his superior officer".

Cullen sighed.

"I could, but he would report me to the Knight-Commander and accuse me of not doing my duty" he explained "But if I can bring them in peacefully then I can keep Knight-Lieutenant out of this and nobody has to die".

People not dying would be nice.

"I would prefer if you would convince them to surrender peacefully and turn themselves over before Ser Karras arrives," Cullen was now saying "Then he could no longer brand them dangerous and have them executed. But I cannot say if the apostates will accept such terms, and I don't know how dangerous they are. If I go in their and they put up a fight, I'll have to respond with force".

Which could result in a bloodbath, possible in the literal sense if blood magic was involved. Which was almost certain since blood magic was so often used in and around Kirkwall.

Also I got the sense that Cullen was testing us so it was best to go along with his plan.

"If this Ser Karras arrives before we get out, won't we be in danger ourselves?" Bethany asked, sounding worried.

Cullen didn't seem concerned.

"Not if I'm here" he assured us "our orders are to deal with the mages from Starkhaven, and if they are ready to be escorted back the Gallows then doing anything other than that would be going against those orders".

We were not in a good position, but it could be worse.

"Come on, you lot" Carver said "let's see how reasonable these mages are".

(Line Break)

 **Caves**

As it turned out the mages were not very reasonable. As soon as we entered the caverns, we were jumped by groups of possessed corpses led by an apostate.

It appeared as though these mages had done the same as many did when backed into a corner, which was to slit their wrisits and to call out to the nearest demon to come possess some dead bodies, or to manifest directly onto this plane. How anyone could think this was a good idea was totally beyond me.

We were forced to kill the mage who had used blood magic, as the man had clearly gone insane, he hadn't even tried to talk us despite being asked to surrender by Carver.

"Those poor fools," Anders spoke, sounding almost stricken with grief "Forced into this position, they defend themselves the only way they know. Don't tell me we're going to return them to the Circle?"

Merrill, having kept quiet until now, finally spoke up.

"So these mages deserve pity when they use blood magic" she said "but I get only scorn for using it. I wish you would make up your mind".

In his own way Anders was as much of a hypocrite as Fenris was.

"You never had to defend yourself from the templars like this," Anders argued "You gave yourself to the demon willingly in exchange for its knowledge, when you could have done perfectly well without it. There is no excuse for that".

This was already a very old and boring debate.

"I wish you wouldn't argue about it," Bethany requested.

There was yet more taking, which was stupid since we should all be focused on danger right now.

"You are both equally dangerous and unpredictable" Fenris stated.

Still it didn't end.

"Another helpful comment from The Brooding One," Varric said with a chuckle. "Just send us on any task involving mages or templars, and this group becomes such a barrel of laughs!"

It was amazing we hadn't all gotten killed by now.

(Line Break)

During the next fight I ended up being the first to attack, when I saw some skeletons chasing a poor mage, I lashed out without thinking with a powerful lightening spell. The undead things broke apart with enough force that bones bounced off the walls.

"Gothic how can you cast a spell like that so quickly?" Fenris demanded to know.

I hadn't even realised it had been that fast.

"No idea" I said "I just reacted".

The others were more concerned about the boy I had just saved.

"This guy's bleeding" Carver informed while helping the mage get to his feet "Anders help him".

The Warden immediately ran over and started casting some healing magic.

"There we go" reported Anders "all better".

The boy was happy to see us.

"Maker's blessings," he said "Please, can you help me? I want no part in their using of blood magic".

It was nice to met a mage who didn't succumb to peer pressure when others started using the dark arts.

"Blood magic?" Carver asked "Whose using it".

The young man was happy to answer.

"Decimus he's the one who led us here" the boy said "It was fine for a while. None of us know how to survive outside the Circle, but we worked together. But then, Decimus declared that the templars were going to label us all blood mages. So, he slit his wrist and the magic boiled out from the blood, and suddenly there are walking skeletons. I ran. I don't want this. I want to go back to the Circle. I don't want to follow him anymore".

This one we didn't need to worry about.

"There's a Templar at the entrance called Thrask" Carver told the lad "Go out there and surrender to him. You won't be hurt as long as you tell them your coming out peacefully".

I expected the Grey Warden to protest.

"Scared out of his mind," Anders commented "and I dread to think what we will find further inside".

I knew.

"We're about to find out," Fenris growled.

(Line Break)

"Open area ahead," Carver announced after what seemed like a long walk "The air feels weird".

The Veil was thin here, so much so that even the non-mages could sense it.

"It's magic," Fenris spat.

I felt the need to warn the others.

"The Veil is thin here" I told the non-mages "that means demons could appear, and magic will be easier to use".

Carver looked concerned.

"Will you okay?" he asked "I know you don't have as much experience as the others do with magic, and there could be a fight".

I wasn't worried.

"Relax" I replied "I killed an Ogre so I highly doubt a blood mage will any trouble".

With that we moved on and when we entered a very large chamber we found the mages.

"So, they're here," the man declared "Templar pets come to drag us back to the Circle".

We got ready to fight.

"Decimus, wait" a woman pleaded.

She was ignored.

"If they challenge us, the dead themselves will meet the call!" the blood mage shouted

He loosed the spell and skeletons climbed out of the ground. Spells and swords destroyed the undead things in short ordered. The Veil being so thin made it easier to summon demons to inhabit the corpses, but it also made it easier for spells to send them back into the Fade.

"You're mages!" Decimus shouted "Why are you helping the templars?"

He never gave us a chance to reply.

"Die, traitors!" he roared while using his blood to fuel another spell.

There was a shriek from a woman as Decimus collapsed, he killed himself by giving to much of his life force to power a spell. This was one of the other dangers of blood magic, and another reason not to use it.

"Oh, Decimus, you should've listened to me, love" one of the mages was saying "We didn't even think to fight back until you came along".

Now I could see the female mage gently brushing Decimus's hair out of his face.

"I told him he was going too far. I did" she said to herself more than anyone else "But he thought it was the only way to protect us, the only way to protect me".

If this was true then it made Decimus a lot harder to hate.

"Can… can you help us" someone asked "They'll kill us".

Since the rest of them seemed to have no fight in them my group decided to discuss thing.

"How many of them are corrupted?" Carver muttered "We can't just let Blood Mages walk free, not if they've been raising demons".

They might be peaceful now, but they could change once the shock of their leader's death had worn off.

"All of them, probably," Fenris answered with a growl. "We'd be better to kill them all".

There were times when I wondered if the elf warrior was as evil as his master.

"Let's not jump to conclusions" Anders said.

I also had something to say.

"They can't escape" I pointed out "not without fighting the Templars outside and there could be a hundred of them out there by now. We need to focus on keeping them alive".

No one had a problem with that other than Fenris, but he had nothing else to say on the subject.

"Will you help us?" the grieving woman asked.

She looked so tired, so desperate, yet we couldn't trust her.

"The only thing there is to do is surrender" I said "You can tell them that Decimus was the only one doing blood magic and that it killed him".

That might make the Templars think that the rest of them had been just scared to do anything other than hide in the back of cave, or it might not.

(Line Break)

When we exited the cave, we found that Ser Thrask and Ser Cullen arguing with another Templar who had brought quite a few friends with him.

"You cannot tell me that boy is the innocent when his fellows are guilty" a Templar was saying

I figured this was Ser Karras.

"Please I ran away when I saw blood magic, ser" the lad we'd saved earlier was saying "Honest".

Carver interrupted.

"I killed their leader in combat" he lied "The rest surrendered without a fight, they want to return to a Circle.".

Knight-Captain Cullen spoke next.

"I'm glad this was resolved peacefully" he said "Our Knight-Commander doesn't look kindly on those who resist".

As the mages were marched off by the templars, Ser Thrask stayed behind for a moment.

"My thanks" he told us "I will do my utmost to keep them safe."

I couldn't move as I watched them be marched off. A couple gave me dirty looks, but I made myself meet their gaze as calmly as possible.

"Did we do the right thing?" Anders wondered

I pondered the question before answering.

"Yeah, I think you did. They're not like us and Bethany. They didn't know how to cope outside the Circle, and that led to them following a mad man. If we let them go they'd just end up back in the Gallows anyway, but I don't think all of them would have made it there alive".

And they may have turned to blood magic, I was pretty sure the woman who had been grieving would in the future, but that wasn't certain as thing could turn out differently.

"We did well" the elf warrior stated.

It took me a second to realise that Fenris was agreeing with what I had just said. That made me want to go and have a very big drink.

(Line Break)

Kirkwall

Rather than go for that drink we went to see Bartrand, who was his cheerful self.

"Varric!" the dwarf shouted "Where did you get off to? And what are you planning?".

Brotherly love was so sweet.

"Bartrand. So suspicious. I have, in fact, brought us our future partners" Varric stated

Bartrand reaction was explosive.

"What? Partners!" he yelled "You stupid, nug-humping dirt-farmer. Why did you go promising something like that?"

Varric was clearly used to these outbursts as he was able to remain calm.

"Because if we don't get this expedition moving soon, Brother, then its never going to happen" the beardless dwarf replied "we can worry about sharing profits when there is profit to be shared".

Bartrand relented rather quickly, which to me was proof of how desperate he was.

"Hmph. Maybe you have a point" he admitted before turning to face Carver, Bethany and I "So do you have something to make it worth while partnering up".

Carver smiled and handed over a large bag of coins. The money lenders had converted everything we'd put into the account into fifty gold coins. We had even more than we needed as Cullen had paid us, and the rest would be used to ensure those going with us into the Deep Roads were as well equipped as possible.

"I don't believe it" Bartrand remarked.

Varric was unsuccessful at trying not to smirk.

"What did I tell you, Bartrand?" the younger dwarf said "I told you'd I get us the partners we needed".

The older dwarf put the bag away before saying anything else.

"All right, partners" the then said "Full shares of the profit between the five of us. Should be easy to divide up".

So when we got the treasure, assuming we lived that long. It would be divided between Bartrand. Varric. Carver. Bethany and myself. Then Hawke twins and I would then divide our share further so that everyone who had invested would get a small percentage. I doubted Isabela would get her ship, but it would help. Assuming she didn't waste it.

"Agreed?" the older dwarf then asked.

Bartrand held out his hand, and Carver shook it.

"Now we just need a decent entrance into the Deep Roads" the older dwarf said "and then we can go".

Carver Hawke handed over the maps that Anders had given us. We could have sold them to Bartrand and ended up investing less, but since we had more than enough it had seemed wise to keep the maps for ourselves. They might come in handy one day.

"These might be just what we need" Carver said.

Bartrand spread the maps on a nearby table so he could examine them.

"What's this?" he muttered "Three… four entrances into the Deep Roads, all in the Free Marches".

He then turned to Carver.

"Where did you get these?" he questioned without evening bothering to wait for a reply "We just pick the most promising one and go".

Bratrand then addressed the whole group.

"Time to wrap up any business you have in the city, my friends. We'll be gone for several weeks at least" he told us as he started to walk away. "Let me know as soon as you're ready, and we'll head out".

(Line Break)

 **Hightown**

Given that I was heading to Deep Roads tomorrow, there were a hundred other things I would have preferred to be doing today, but I had been ropped into cleaning up Fenris's mansion by Bethany and Merril.

The elf was understandably unhappy with have so mages in his house, but he was also smart enough not to try to kick Bethany out, so rather than get in our way he'd gone to the top floor of the house. In order to brood I assumed.

I wasn't sure why Beth was doing this, it could be a simple act of kindness, or she might be trying to show the elf that all mages were bad.

When starting the cleaning I'd gone to the main entrance and swept up all the loose papers and various debris that was scattered around the place. I felt myself smile as I hummed a song no one in the this world had ever heard and most likely never would.

While humming I cleared away few of the cobwebs and went to a fireplace to get rid of all the papers. I swept up all the broken tile and glass into one pile. Then I grabbed the cloth and wiped the glass as best as I could. Which turned out to be a rather futile effort.

"Ugh, and this is just the main entrance…" I mumbled.

I'd been at this for what seemed liked hours and I hadn't even cleaned one part of the house. I could only hope Merril and Bethany were having better luck.

While I cleaned some more I tried to think about that Disney film were Micky Mouse enchants some mops and makes them clean for him. Sure had gone horrible wrong in the cartoon, but I was a real mage. Then I pushed aside those thoughts as magic wasn't something to be used just to make my life easier.

"What are you singing?" a voice asked.

I turned to see Merril, and I had to stop to think about her question.

" _The Sorcerer's Apprentice"_ I told her "Its story about a magic user who enchants mops to clean his master's house, but they get out of control and destroy everything. I was humming the music that plays during the story.

She accepted that as an answer even if it might not make that much sense to someone who had never seen a movie.

"Bethany's going to pick up a few things from the market" Merril informed me "She wants to know if you want anything".

I did not so I shook my head.

"You know Fenris loos very sad. I wonder if we could do more to help him" Merrill then said.

I doubted it.

"Given that we're mages I doubt it" I replied.

Merril then left and I looked around to see how much of a dent I had made. It wasn't much so I figured that I would be at this all day.

"God damn it Bethany" I muttered.

When I got back from the Deep Roads I was so hiring a maid, and she'd look way sexier an apron than I did.

(Line Break)

By the next day we knew who was going and who was not. Aveline's new duties as guard captain prevented her from leaving with us. Fenris was coming, he'd already invested and offered his services as a fighter. Anders hated the Deep Roads, but he insisted on coming along, we were all glad of this since not would he able to sense the darkspawn, due to being a Warden, but also because he had made similar trips before. Isabela was coming too for reasons of her own, while Bethany and Merril had decided not to. Beth because her mother didn't want both of her remaining children to leave and Merril because the Deep Roads were something we didn't think she could handle.

"We've chosen one of the hidden entrances. The Deep Roads there will be nice and virginal, ready for a good deflowering."

Varric and Carver both covered their faces at Bartrand's words, and I had to laugh.

"Now there's an interesting image," Varric said.

Bartrand continued his speech, acting as if nothing he had just said was at all funny

"It'll take a week for us to get to the depth we need, and there are bound to be leftover darkspawn from the Blight" he informed everyone "But big risks equal big rewards".

I was uncertain of his maths.

"Risks, rewards—what could be better?" Carver said.

Bethany ran over and hugged me for what had to be the tenth time in this last half an hour, and thankfully everyone pretended it wasn't happening.

"Exactly," Bartrand agreed "Now let's get underway".

I managed to pry Beth off me and catch up with the others before they got far, and while there was plenty of chatter I was too busy thinking to get involved. I was worried about Bethany being sent to Circle and about the possibity of Carver ending up as Grey Warden. Either of both could happen.

Bethany ending up in the Gallows worried me the most, and I hated the fact that I could do nothing about it other than to beg her spend as much time as possible with her mother while staying out of sight.

Still I was somewhat hopefully that things would work out differently, but if they didn't I wasn't sure what I would do next. Things were so uncertain even with all I knew.


	12. 12 - The Deep Roads

**Mage Gothic**

 **12 - The Deep Roads**

I already hated the Deep Roads, in fact hate was really to weak of a word. I could see why both Anders and Varric loathed them so much. It wasn't the darkspawn that really bothered me as they had been a big threat so far as Anders as could sense the 'spawn, preventing them from ambushing us. Thanks to spells and arrows were able to deal with the monsters before they got close to harm us.

No what bothered me was the monotony of everything. Every day was the exact same, the air was still, it was neither hot or cold, there was very little talking going on to distract me, we had to eat the same rations at very meal, and there was nothing other than water to drink.

I should've been happy that there were no problems, but I would have faced a dozen darkspawn just to experience some weather, or see something more colourful than the stone around us.

Thankfully my wish for some sort of change was now being answered.

"There's been a collapse," Varric explained when the group came a halt "Apparently, the side passages are too dangerous so we're stuck here".

Now finally we would get some action.

"We're setting up camp" Varric then said "Or, rather, the useless lackeys my brother hired are. I, however, have stupidly volunteered us to go find us a new route".

Carver wasn't happy about this, but he understood that if we didn't go then the coin we'd all worked so hard to earn would be wasted.

"This is one of the reasons why the Deep Roads are a death trap" Anders said as the group started moving down a side passage "There are collapses everywhere. We nearly lost Sigrun to a cave-in once".

I was glad she hadn't died, I liked Sigrun. Perhaps I'd met her one day.

"Death by falling rocks sounds very bad" Isabela commented.

We all agreed with that.

"The Taint is worse" Ander muttered.

Before we had gotten very far we found that someone was chasing after us.

"I hate to add to your burdens, my friends, but I fear I must," a dwarf said "Its about my son, I fear he wandered off, down the side passages. If you can, please keep an eye out? He doesn't… well, he doesn't understand danger like he should".

We all exchanged worried looks, although in my case it was just acting as I knew that Sandal would be fine.

"And how long has it been?" Carver enquired.

"He vanished about half an hour ago I figure" we were told "I turned my back to hand out the rations and he must have slipped away then".

Bodhan really loved his adopted son. I could see the worry in his eyes, and I was also impressed that he was smart enough not to go chasing after Sandal himself.

"We'll find him," I reassured the dwarf

The others weren't so sure.

"We're going to find a single dwarf in this place?" Carver asked me as Bodhan walked away "Is that a wise thing to promise?".

Normally it wasn't, but this was Sandal we were going after, if I was capable of it I'd be pitying the darkspawn.

(Line Break)

Before long I got the sense that was something wrong with my fellow Mage, he seemed distracted.

"Anders?" I asked.

He was silent for a bit, before answering.

"My Warden sense is tingling" he told us.

We all gave him odd looks.

"It's something the Warden-Commander used to say" Anders explained "It means danger is nearby. The Darkspawn kind".

There were in fact a lot of darkspawn heading our way.

"Blondie, give more warning next time!" Varrice shouted.

Carver charged forward and cut down the first darkspawn that had appeared on the path. Then he kept going, which was impressive as it meant the spawn couldn't stop him, but it meant he was seperating himself from the rest of us.

Fenris chased after his fellow warrior, and also because a whirlwind of death.

"Come on Gothic" Varrice said "We can't let them have all the fun, Bianca's getting jealous"

I brought my sword up, but then decided against it and sheathed it.

"Let me stun them with lightening, and you can shoot them" I said to the dwarf.

I zapped a genlock and when the monster tried to pick itself up a bolt fired from Bianca made its way into the creature's neck. Given the distance it was an impressive shot.

"This I like!" Varric cheered.

I zapped another monster, and this time a bolt ended up in the thing's eye, going right into its brain.

"How many bolts do you have?" I wondered.

Between us we killed another spawn before he answered.

"I've got enough if I'm smart about my shots, Goth" Varric told me "How about your spells?"

That was when I conjured up a fireball and launched it into some nearby darkspawn.

"Well then areyou going to shoot or let me have all the fun?" I asked as I set three darkspawn on fire.

I heard Varric laugh.

"Just letting you catch up" he said before firing his weapon which resulted in a bolt going through one spawn and into another "Wouldn' want you feeling inadaute".

Between the two of us, we soon made short work of the darkspawn surrounding us and chased after Fenris and Carver. It didn't take long to find them. Darkspawn corpses were all over the place, and we also found Anders who was healing a wound on Carver's arm.

"I can see how you survived Ostagar" Anders was saying.

As impressive as Carver was, he still wasn't the warrior his brother had been. But I didn't voice this opinion as there was no need to reopen old wounds.

"Hawke!" I heard Fenris call out "You should see this".

I couldn't help but whistle softly when I saw the bodies of darkspawn scattered along the path.

Soon, we caught sight of a young dwarf bow standing in the middle of what seemed to be dozens of dead darkspawn. Blood splattered his clothes.

"Well, I'll be a nug's uncle," said "That's Bodahn's boy"

"Hello," the boy greeted with a smile that looked far too out of place given all the blood smeared on his face.

"Talk about 'dumb luck'" Anders muttered.

I doubted that luck had anything to do with this.

"No, Anders, it's the great warrior standing victoriously over the broken bodies of hus foes," Carver joked.

I stepped closer to Sandal and used my sleeve to help wipe off some of the blood. It was best not to let the stuff touch the skin. If spawn blood mixed with your own blood you could become a ghoul. Hopefully Sander's father would clean the boy up.

"Hey, Sandal" I said "Are you injured?"

He shook his head.

"Good" I replied "Your fathers worried about you. Why don't you go back and find him".

Sandal smiled in response and handed me a glowing rune. It felt cold to the touch.

"Boom," he cheerfully said.

That was when one of the spawn, who had been frozen on the spot, suddenly shattered.

"Not enchantment!" Sandal cheered.

Nobody got a chance to ask anything further as the lad just walked off, back towards the camp.

"Come on" Carver then said "We still need to find a way past that collapse".

Despite his words we didn't leave right away as the Grey Warden in the group wanted to check out the ogre who had just been shattered.

"Well, I'm confused," Anders admitted after a moment. "It's been turned into ice, not just frozen. I can do that with magic, but not many mages can".

It was very odd.

"I've done something similar" I said "and so has Bethany".

Not all mages were equal in terms of power, some were more powerful than others, and not all mages could do any elemental spells at all.

"Dwarves… don't have magic, right?" I asked.

My fellow mage shook his head.

"They don't have a strong enough connection to the Fade," Anders confirmed. "I do know of two dwarves who entered the Fade, but that was through abnormal means. Very abnormal".

I asked to hear more.

"Oghren and Sigrun" he said "Both claim that the experience taught them why humans and elves are insane".

Well they weren't wrong.

"What are you two doing?" Varric demanded "we need to get moving".

(Line Break)

* * *

"Darkspawn ahead" Anders warned us.

Already I knew why the darkspawn were considered to be a minior threat when there wasn't a Blight going on. They were absolute idiots. Small groups of them would turn up and charge without any concern for their own wellbeing or tactices. Most of the time Anders and I just blasted them with spells from a distance and then let the warriors finished them off.

"I love fighting darkspawn when they aren't acting intelligent," Anders commented "They can set up ambushes but with me here we'd never run into one".

While we had no soild information, we'd all heard that the dwarven war was going well. The spawn were tough up close, but at range they were mostly target practice. During the Blight they'd used ranged attacks as well, but they seemed to have forgotten how to do that.

"Then why haven't the Wardens destroyed them all," Carver wondered "I saw the Blight I was at Ostagar, but now it seems so easy".

To be fair very few warriors had the skill Carver had, as such he was having an easier time dealing with the 'spawn, however he had a point.

"Numbers" Anders explained "There's no end to them, no matter how many we kill more soon take their place, even a stupid enemy will get lucky if they can keep attacking you, and the Deep Roads are a big place. Its going to be at least another generation before the dwarves can clear them out, and that's with the Warden helping. And if the dwarves lose the war, then there will be nothing stopping the darkspawn from taking over all the Deep Roads, and after that they only have one place to go: the surface".

Nothing was then said for a while as we moved on.

(Line Break)

"Hawke, I've got a bad feeling," Varric murmured "This hallway is _way_ too long for there not to be something nasty waiting for us at the end".

Now that he mentioned it, this _was_ a long hallway.

"An exit?" Carver asked.

The rest of us were less optermistic.

"It had better not be a bloody broodmother," Anders mumbled. "Last hallway I was in that ran this long had four of them at the end. I still have nightmares about those things".

I imagined that they were even more horrible to see in real life.

"And what's a broodmother?" Isabela asked

Anders gave the pirate a very worried look.

"Something I dearly hope none of you ever come face to face with" he said.

Now I was glad that we hadn't brought Merril and Bethany with us. The idea of them becoming Broodmothers made me feel ill.

"Just..." Anders struggled to say "if the darkspawn ever drag you off, and you don't see a way out, try to kill yourself. It better than could happen if you don't".

Isbela, the only woman in the group, looked scared now.

"Uh…" she muttered.

Anders gave her an intense look.

"Trust me" he then said.

Isbela now looked really scared.

"Yes, I promise" she told Anders "but why only tell me to.."

She never got the chance to finish as that was when we entered a massive open space. It wasn't a cavern, this place had been carved out of the rock, but that wasn't what was interesting.

"Andraste's tits, what's a dragon doing all the way down here?!" Varric called out.

The dragon launched itself into the air with a cry that shattered the air. It had plenty of room to maneuver, too as this chamber was truly massive.

"Aim for the wings!" Anders yelled "Bring it to the ground!".

I tried to do just that, but my fireballs missed.

"At least its not an Archdemon" I heard someone yell.

We had all scattered, and thankfully this dragon didn't seem to be the fire breathing kind. So as long as kept our distance we should be okay.

"Blondie, what do we need to do?" Varric asked "Bianca's not having much luck here".

He wasn't the only one who was worried.

"Someone come up with a plan!" ordered loudly.

That was when the dragon turned in the air and charged straight for me. All I could do was try to prepare a powerful lightning spell, the kind I'd used to destroy Orge's in the past. But to my surprise, the dragon slowed as she approached me. As the wind off its wings buffeted me, the dragon watched me.

"Um… hi?" I said "Nice place you have here?".

The dragon studied me for a long moment, with what I'd call a calculating gaze. Then it flew over my head, into the tunnel we came from. After a long while of heavy silence, we heard a much softer, muffled roar of triumph.

"Guess it just wanted a way out" I said to group.

As far as I was concered not fighting a dragon was a good thing.

"Perfect, let's get back to Bartrand," Varric said "He'll be _so_ pleased… assuming that dragon doesn't fancy a snack on its way out".

(Line Break)

Seven days after entering the Deep Roads, we had finally found it. It was a beautiful ruin, with twisting veins of red stone decorating the outside. Completely untouched. Breathtaking… and absolutely terrifying for me because I knew how dangerous red lyruim was.

"Was this… what you were expecting?" Carver asked.

Suddenly I felt the need to sit down. I was feeling very tired, and still a bit sick. I didn't think being underground agreed with me.

"I… I don't…" Bartrand mumbled in reply before speaking more clearly "I thought… I thought an abandoned thaig, something old. But this… what _is_ this?".

That was a good question.

"Well, how did you even know about it?" was Carver's next question.

He soon got an answer.

"Old scavenger tales" Bartrand whispered "From the Third Blight. A week below the surface, they claimed. No one believed them, but me that is".

I was starting to feel really warm for some reason.

"Make camp here," Bartrand ordered, his voice still soft. "We need to look around".

For now I was just going to rest.

"There… aren't any darkspawn here," I heard Anders say "but I'm sensing something".

He then turned to me.

"Oh Maker no" he said.

I felt my eyes close as I couldn't stay awake anymore.

(Line Break)

"Gothic!" I heard Anders shout as he chased me "You're in no shape to...".

I ignored the mage and headed to where I hoped the rest of my friends were. It felt as if I'd been in the Fade for days, but I knew that only a hour or two had passed so I might not be too late.

"Bartrand! The door shut behind you!" I heard Varric yell "Come on, give us a hand!"

Since Varric's brother was so focused on the idol he didn't see me heading right towards him.

"No" Bartrand said.

The word was heavy and cold, and the chuckle that followed it creeped me out.

"I don't think I will, brother" the dwarf then said.

My fist met the dwarves face, and the idol dropped to the ground. I kicked it as far away and then created a fireball which blasted the idol into peices so small they could barely be seen.

"Bartrand, we can't open it!" Varric called out.

I opened the door and the Bartrand's brother came storming out he was so focused on the older dwarf that he didn't even notice me.

"You were going to screw over your _own brother_ for a lousy idol?!" Varric yelled.

(Line Break)

* * *

"I'm fine, Anders" I assured the mage "If anything I feel better than ever, and I know what to do".

Only the Grey Warden understood how dangerous it was to spend so much time in the Fade and I'd been dreaming for than a hour. During that time I'd seen so much, things that had happend, things that must happen, and the things I that must not happen.

Also I'd taken a spirit into myself, not like Anders had, I wasn't possessed it was more a connection, but I no longer had to worry about demons getting inside me as I was joined to something very powerful.

The best thing about it was that the Taint had been cleared from my system. I'd been undergoing the process of becoming a ghoul. I'd not noticed a small cut on my one of my hands, it must have gotten infected when I cleaned some of the blood of Sandel.

"We need to go through that door" I told everyone "If we do we'll find a lot of treasure".

The people around me looked confused.

"Where does it lead?" Carver eventully asked.

I had an answer for him.

"Out of here" I told him "but its not going to safe, so we need to clear the way".

We couldn't carry all the treasure out by ourselves, but that wasn't going top stop me from stuffing my pockets and my pouch full of shiny things.

"The Veil in thin here" warned Anders "even compared to Kirkwall"

I nodded.

"Which means there will be demons" I said.

Anders then took me aside for a moment.

"I know we don't have to worry about possession, but… well, there's nothing protecting Carver save his stubbornness and I would _not_ be surprised if Varric could be as well, dwarf or not. Isabela is in much greater risk, and Fenris's hated of mages could make him vunrable".

Again I nodded.

"All the more reason to go in there and fight them rather than stand around here" I reasoned "This whole place is tainted, we need to get out of the Deep Roads as quickly as possible and we can't go back empty handed so this is the only option we have".

I turned to see that everyone had been intently listening to what I had just been saying.

"I am nominating you to be our leader" Varric suddenly announced "You at least have a plan".

That apprantly was enough to convince others. Eve Fenris, although he did spend some time muttering about mages being crazy.

(Line Break)

The eerie red lyrium combined with the fact that the Veil, (which was a kind of barrier between this world and the Fade) was so thin here that it made travelling through this part of the Deep Roads extra nasty.

But nothing came out of the dark to attack us. In fact everything was very peaceful until we reached the end of the hallway. Which was odd because I remembered there being a lot of fights in this part of the game.

"Hello, there" I said when we came across some sort demon rock thing "My name is Gothic".

Demons were a lot less scary when you knew they couldn't take over your meatsuit.

"So, you are the ones who proved your mettle," it boomed "I will not see these creatures harmed without need".

The creatures were all around us, but they weren't moving for some reason.

"They merely hunger, you see. They have lingered in this place for ages beyond memory" we were told "feeding on the magic stones until the need is all they know".

That sounded like a boring diet to me.

"They eat the lyrium?" Anders said "That can't be healthy".

Even when it wasn't the red stuff it was best not to get too close to lyrium, I didn't even drink the potions.

"You're something else aren't you" I stated "something from the Fade".

It was a demon. I could feel it.

"I am not as they are. I am a visitor" it stated "and I would not see my feast end."

The thing brought its 'face' close to mine. I refused to be intimated

"I can sense your desire" the demon was now saying "You seek to leave this place".

The treasure was of great interest to me, but my desire to get my friends out of this place safely was much stronger than my lust for treasure.

"There is a door farther in that leads into the paths above us" the demon said "It is sealed, however, and cannot be opened without a key. I know where that is. Do as I ask and I shall tell you."

Here was a demon and it was attempting to make a deal so I did what any sane person would do. I told it to go fuck itself.

"Most unwise," the demon retorted "Most unwise indeed".

That was when the rock wraiths finally attacked, saldy for them I was feeling stronger than ever and since the Veil was so thin here it was easy to draw upon the magic required to power my spells.

(Line Break)

"Varric?" I called out as we searched the now demon free part of the Deep Roads "You find anything?"

I knew the treasure was around here somewhere.

"An easily picked lock!" I heard him say with a laugh "That leads to a hallway with no traps"

We went through to the next hallway and found that it was surprisingly short compared to the others we'd gone through and that it was completely empty.

"So, I'm starting to wonder if some of these strange markings in here are actually protection wards to keep out shades," Anders mused as we walked. "Some of them _do_ look similar to the spell runes I'm used to".

That would explain the lack of demons.

"Uh… Blondie, that would imply that dwarves had magic," Varric pointed out.

In this Thaig I wouldn't rule that out.

"You think that these dwarves had magic?" I asked before attempting to answer my own question "if this Thaig is as old as we think it is then the dwarves here might not have the resistence to it that they do now".

The topic was changed as something was then found

"The vault room," Varric said eagerly. "The dwarves here would've brought their…"

We all then turned to see another rock wraith looming above us. There were two differences in this one. One) it was glowing red. Two) it was far too large.

"Oh, that can't be good," Varric murmured.

Which was a bit of an understatment really.

"Scatter!" I shouted.

We all scrambled off, just as the thing brought down its arm and cracked the stone underneath it.

"Distract it" I shouted.

Fenris and Carver yelled at the demon. Varrice fired his crossbow as Anders sent a spell. Then for reasons of her own Isabela decided to drop her trousers and moon the big scary demon.

I was somewhat distracted by that myself, however I was able to focus. I gathered magical energy and used it to fashion a blast of lightening that was far greater than anything I'd been able to harness before.

The lightning died at last and the thing slumped in the center, red skeleton exposed without the rock to protect it. This would be the perfect time to strike, if I could do anything more than crawl. Calling upon that kind of power had drained all my energy.

Thankfully Fenris was here, and he had plenty of energy to spare, which he used, along with a warhammer he'd picked up from somewhere, to smash the rock demon thing into what could be called a pile of pebbles.

Everything was silent for a good long while, as we just stared at the thing slowly turning to dust. I heard some minor shuffling, but it wasn't until the last bit of dust hit the ground did the silence truly end.

"You know; Rock wraiths were supposed to be legend," Varric complained "As it not real".

In a world with dragons, werewolves, mages, and elves it seemed to assume that anything could be real.

"Looked real enough for me," Carver said.

Perhaps we would have discussed in more, but Isabela then got our attention.

"Hey, boys!" she shouted "Come see what it was guarding!"

I stumbled over, with Anders and Carver close behind. I couldn't help but gasp when I saw it. A _giant_ storage room overflowing with gold and gems and many other shiny things

"Gothic I think we can stop worrying about the debts on the Amell esate" Carver said "This will set us for life".

And then some.

"Only if you're smarter with your money than your Uncle Gamlen," I teased.

He was the reason the Amell esate was such debt.

"I'll say. No Qunari cheese investments" Carver promised "we are not letting him anywhere near this coin".

That sounded wise.

"Found a couple of keys," Anders infromed us "I'll go scout ahead and make sure there aren't a few hundred Darkspawn waiting for us".

I was grateful for that.

"Let me go with you" Fenris said "If there are Darkspawn out there you shouldn't go alone".

I was also grateful to hear that. Fenris might not like mages, but at least he wasn't his feeling get in the way of doing what was smart. That might change when we got to the surface, but I would worry about that later.

"Thanks" I said before returing my attention the shiny.

"We'll lose some of this stuff to the hired help" I heard Varrice say "But they'll just pocked a few coins, they aren't bad lads".

I'd have tipped them anyway as since they had worked hard lugging all the supplies down here, and even now they were guarding Bartrand for us. They'd done it happily, and I got the sense that he hadn't been a good boss.

"Pocked the gems" Varrice advised "And the amulets and stuff you can put on now. Use the gold to fill the wagons and we can worry about it later. Grab the jewels for your share. Those things always go first on the market!"

We were still doing that when our scouts returned.

"I've got good news!" Anders announced "One of the keys opened the door and its a passage way leading up".

He had more to say.

"The bad news is that I can sense more darkspawn" he then told us "I think we've only enough food and water to last us if we're very careful with it, so it won't be a fun trip back".

Well it hadn't been a fun trip down here, but at least we were all now rich.

(Line Break)

 **9:41 Dragon**

 **Skyhold**

I stopped there and waited for the Seeker to ask any questions she might have.

"You know I liked Varric's version better" she said "In his telling you slew the dragon and the rock wraiths without any help, and there was nothing about the Fade being thin".

Hearing that made me smile.

"Well he always had a fancyful imagintion" I commented "What are I told you is the true story of what happened. It's not as entertaining, but you wanted the facts".

The Seeker nodded.

"I would like to hear more" she said "but time is short and I need to know what happened. How did you and your friends killing Corypheus led to him being freed?".

That was another story for another day.

"I will tell you what tale" I promised Cassandra "but not now I have to get to Crestwood".

The Seeker agreed to my terms.

"Then I will see you when you return" she said "Good luck Champion".


End file.
